A bit OCD

Floors are unvacuumed. Spices remain un-alphabetised.
I bless the spaces between the furniture to keep everyone safe. Seven.

I do not arrive exactly on time. Margins can keep their default size.
I would like you to promise me this isn’t poison. This supermarket chicken.

I do not straighten any of the objects on my desk.
I have seen the word crash on three magazine covers, which must be a sign.

I have clutter on my bookshelves and coffee rings on the little table.
I move the little tables to make the spaces right. Seven.

Reports do not say I am a perfectionist.
If I say the prayer wrong, I say the prayer again.

Gosh, that’s a dark thought, I’m sure you’d say.
If I say the prayer wrong, I say the prayer again (seven) –
If I say the prayer wrong,
 
I say the prayer again.

Vanessa Napolitano is a Yorkshire-based writer and was a Word Up North New Northern Poet 2025. She has published four books, including the chapbook the lives we had before with Stanchion Press in 2026. Her work can be found in And Other Poems, Interpreter’s House and Alchemy Spoon. Find her @nessanapolitano_ on instagram, and @ Moette on X.