Inanimate Objects

Have you ever asked an inanimate object
If they feel bad about something that originated with them? A lightbulb
Could randomly blow up, for example, or a house
Could spontaneously combust and collapse in on itself
Around you. Not that these kinds of objects
Are responsible for these unfortunate events, of course:
They’re inanimate objects; they have no agency. But have you tried
Asking them anyway, shouting, “Why?” in frustration as your house
Fell apart or the lights went out? Or have you
Asked them repeatedly over a number of years
If they now feel anything about what happened? Because
When I did, I only got a blank stare back from the rubble.