PREVIOUS TENANTS
city special
broken baluster canted east
and stuck, point up amongst the sheetrock
and glass, the glitter in the grass,
the failed foundation, the concrete
chunked up and useless – in this
a field mouse builds a house
of dry grass and fabric remnants, string,
strips of brown cassette tape in the rain
that sparkles with the passing light of car
headlights and gas-powered streetlamps -
it’s this we overlook: the special
in the dirt, the mouse and the magpie’s version,
the crow wheeling overhead
on the lookout for carrion and chips
RENOVATIONS: