When I purchased Clyde
I should have known
that a Robo vac
has a mind of its own.
He eats cords and shoelaces
then stops to complain
that his indigestion
has returned once again.
So I free his clogged innards
from string, wool and lint
and set him back down
to continue the stint.
But he sucks in a paper-clip,
swallows a dime,
gets stuck on a door sill
and whines all the time
as I drag him from corners,
and under the table –
should do it himself
but he doesn't seem able.
Then I haul out the Hoover
and I push and I pull
till the floors are all shiny
and the dust bag is full.
Clyde is now sleeping
and there's no telling when
I'll muster the energy
to use him again.