Foundations
You’ve noticed the cracks,
large enough now
that rats plague the garage.
But they’ve yet to breach
drywall and insulation.
So you pepper
the corners with poison,
close the door,
consider the matter
settled.
A neighbor,
caught in a sudden storm,
knocks.
No jacket
no umbrella.
You welcome him
with towel and tea.
Your neighbor
whose house you know
whose skin you share
whose gods you worship.
I wonder,
did you notice the boy?
The stranger.
The tattered child
beaten by warring winds.
Was it you who told him to lift
his parched jaw
to receive
what the storm offered?
Did you see him
drowned
on the beach
of your doorstep
poison on his fingertips?
Or did you look away
fast enough?
Can you hear them?
The rats.
They cut their teeth,
on sinew
and bone.
Your walls
will
not
hold.
***
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Photo by Liesel Elliott/Flickr
Love this Josh. We are in fragile times now.