By Claire Scott

1.  Spray with WD-40 and let sit for ten minutes
	repeat as needed, maybe fifty times
2.  Pour bottles of Coke into a king-size container
	submerge item for twenty-seven and a half hours
3.  Apply a thick layer of ketchup and leave it on for a day
	rub with a stack of soft cloths and rinse well


We tried it on handlebars, cast iron pans, stovetop grates
each method worked sort of, more or less 
so we figured it was time to refresh our rusty marriage
flattened by routine after fifty years
finishing each other’s sentences
thinking each other’s thoughts
sitting at opposite ends of the sofa
watching yet another pointless series 

We skipped the WD-40, too toxic, too stinky
and there you were, lathered in quarts of ketchup
while I soaked in a tub of soda, using a straw to breathe
an unmitigated disaster 
our skin puckered and raw and red
we took a shower together and burst out laughing
at our joint folly
we have been laughing ever since



~~~~~
Claire Scott is an award-winning poet who has received multiple Pushcart Prize nominations. Her work has appeared in the Atlanta Review, Bellevue Literary Review, New Ohio Review and Healing Muse among others. Claire is the author of Waiting to be Called and Until I Couldn’t.