Within Arm's Reach
Within Arm’s Reach by debgrant
Ordering my workspaces
the art studio
the woodworking bench
the kitchen(not my favorite place to work but a workspace nonetheless)
my reading spaces
my writing table
my computer desk.
Avoiding clutter and over-reach.
The question is what is needed within arm’s reach?
What tool, what tape, what paint, what gadget?
What do we want at our fingertips?
The rest can be more distant
In a drawer, a shelf, in a closet.
My dog
follows me everywhere.
She is always within reach for pat on the butt
or a ruffle of her scruffy head which she accepts with ennui
and drifts back to bed.
My parrot
is caged beyond arm’s reach away but
always within the sound of my voice and his.
We have a conversation of words
and laughter, curses and clicks, whistles and sighs,
farts and burps
throughout the day.
My phone.
Plenty of messages from insurance companies and charities
making sure I don’t forget them.
And sure it is a newspaper and a dictionary and an encyclopedia
rolled into a device the size of a deck of cards
But it is the messages of beloveds
that I want not to miss.
I say it is because “in case of an emergency” but the truth is
not wanting to miss a human moment no matter how
dramatic or random or trivial.
These beloveds are more than arm’s reach away
and some farther than others. The phone is the way to keep them close
all day even when there are no messages only wishing.
Even when we don’t have much to say.
My pens
Too many I confess, but they are like pets.
Intentionally chosen. Sublimely made. Loved for just being what they are.
Necessary for my memory and writing.
If I don’t have a pen at my fingertips when a thought occurs,
the thought might well evaporate while I look for a way to ink it out.
A pocket knife
It has taken me a life to appreciate the convenience of a pocket knife.
I resisted it as guy-thing, a toy for boys to flick to stick in the dirt, a weapon to brandish. I brandish pens and paint and carving tools
not a blade to threaten others with blood.
But it a knife folded and pocketed is more practical and more peaceful
than I gave it credit.
A piece of paper
For all the same reasons as the pens.
What about you?
What do you keep within arm’s reach?
What do you want at your fingertips?
What picture do they paint of you?
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