Remodeling Poem by Kate Richardson

They met at a home remodeling show
At the Baltimore Convention Hall.
He was selling floor mops and
She demo’d picture hooks.

He said, “It cleans with one swipe.”
She said, “You don’t need any nails.”
They looked at each other then and thought,
Maybe this could work.

He talked to the crowd as he pushed the mop
Through the synthetic dirt
The handi-mop people had trained him to
Sprinkle on the synthetic floor.

She smiled at the crowd as she pushed the hooks
Into the square of drywall
That her handi-hang assistant propped up
While she showed how easy it was.

By 7 o’clock, she was washed out.
He wasn’t feeling too sharp. The day was spent.
But still, maybe it was too soon to say.

That night they sat on a concrete wall
Outside the convention hall.
He said, “I’m nothing special. I just do my job.”
She was silent, then she said, “I understand. Me, too.”

They looked at each other again, and thought,
This will just take some work.
He wouldn’t sweep her off her feet,
But she could picture them side by side.