The Plumbing

For months there has been a leak under the sink.
A steady drip from the pipe with a blue tap. The
Water drips loudly at night, silently by day. It turns
The Cupboard floor into a swamp. Who knows what
The floorboards look like beneath. Glue seeps out of
The cupboard joints. The door hangs at a blistered
Angle. The water table rises, in the end the whole
Kitchen will flood, we’ll be out of our depth, up
To our eyes in the stuff.

Periodically I go to work
On the leak. I use my grandad’s old rusty spanner,
Something out of the stone age, which looks more
Like a tool for dead-heading Kray brothers than
Mending leaks. The spanner is unwieldy. It helps
Stem the tide for a while, nothing more. The water
Fights back and I’m slithering on the floor again
Spanner slipping, cosmetic improvement, nothing more.

Then, yesterday, I had a brainwave. I could place a pan
Under the leak. The pipe still drips, but the cupboard floor
Stays dry. So long as I remember to empty the pan once
A day, a pleasant enough habit, my plumbing problems
Are held at bay.

One day, I know, I shall have to take a drastic
Step. Buy a new spanner, or call in the experts. The plumbing
Is not fixed, it’s stop-gapped. But for now I can continue working
In my kitchen, the threat of drowning dealt with, the tide turned
Back.


060405