That Will to Divest

by Kay Ryan
Action creates
a tastefor itself.
Meaning: once
you've swept
the shelves
of spoons
and plates
you kept for guests,
it gets harder
not to also
simplify the larder,
not to dismiss
rooms, not to divest yourself
of all the chairs
but one, not
to test what singleness can bear,
once you've begun.