This House

by Daniel Crocker

this house is kept warm
except around the edges
of rattle drawn windows
and loosely hinged doors

a beautiful woman
who in secret hates her husband
sleeps peacefully alone
on the bedroom floor

this house is well lit
except in the closets
where cobwebs have grown thick
behind tightly closed doors

this house is kept clean
and the books are stacked neatly
and cockroaches crawl through
the cereal boxes at night
while I sleep

Daniel Crocker
Long Live the 2 of Spades
Poetry. Paper, Perfect Bound
Green Bean Press, 1999
ISBN 1-89140810-0
$7 plus s&h