Down in the basement
On top of the washing machine
Are black panties
Clean and forgotten
Why nobody picks them up
Is a wonder
Since they sure belong
To somebody in the house
What might have they thought
Upon finding their panties here
In this dark basement
That made them decide not to retrieve them?
Did they not like the idea of
Their garment having gotten dusty
While sitting around in this basement
Or
Were they embarrassed by
Their panties having gotten exposed
To other eyes
So much so that they didn’t dare reclaim them?
I don’t know
But here lie the black panties
On the washing machine
Clean and forgotten
A reminder of
Our species’ delicate-mindedness
And how nobody really knows
What’s going on in another’s head