The Vacuum I Leave Behind

I lived in Minnesota once.
Owned one of those vacuums
That stand on four wheels.
Short, squat, it looked like
A tiny little dog with the
Nose of an elephant, and
Man, Could that thing suck!

Suck clean the luxurious
Brick-red carpet in the living room.
Suck clean the stairs,
Lugging along a deformed puppy dog
Climbing the stairs with my ball and chain.

Left that vacuum there.

I lived in Colorado once.
Owned a hoakie.
One of those powerless push/pull vacuums.
It looked like a backgammon case
With a broomstick attached.

The carpet began a wintry white
Ended up looking like rain clouds at night.
That cheap imitation of a vacuum cleaner
Really did suck!

Left that vacuum there.

I lived in Montana once.
Owned one of those ancient
1950's lime-green uprights.
The belt always broke.

The carpet was a shitty
Long, mustard, yellow, shag.
That vacuum cleaner was a great sucker,
Unfortunately nothing could clean
That house of the slime that
Permeated from all around.

Left that vacuum there.