Bouncing, clanging, popping within the walls
the sounds grew
every October.
What library secrets
awake from their state of
sinister
aestivoction?
The film major that was
always seen
alone
in the lobby
was behind me
So close I could
hear his
mouth-breathing.
I broke my wrist
getting out of the pool.
I knew I shouldn't have
gone to
Wristbreak Pool!
Father kept the shoes behind
the attic steps, well hidden
for many years.
As I handed the keys off to
the lovely young couple with their
first baby girl
swaddled in their arms,
I worried about
the child's curiosity
bringing her to the
far corners of the house.
I worried about her
finding my mother's toe
still lodged into the steel lining.
The siblings pressed
their faces to
the glass.
A woman, not
their mother,
was inside the room,
swaying from
side
to
side.
Three killed in
electrical fire
this weekend.
Apartment vacant
open for rent.
My body as a husk,
death watches over.
I beg for it
to take me,
but it just stares at me
in silence.