my house

There is a large grey cat sitting on

a small house’s front porch

he’s not looking at me but I’m looking at him,

though the taxi car window.


The taxi driver

is beating an uneven rhythm,

on the steering wheel

as he waits for the light to change.


My life is changing

All around me and

I’m moving away

from everything I’ve ever known.


From a small suburban home,

into a small urban apartment,

in the heart of the city,

with only my mother.


My mother is the one

I’d miss the least but

she’s the one who is

coming with me.


We are bringing so little with us,

it was an excuse to clear out

our house but it made it

impossible for me to get out.


Not that I had many

places to go,

I didn't have very many friends,

but I’d walk to the park and sit on the swings


Drifting back and forth,

across from my first grade best friend’s house.

In second grade we drifted apart but that

it might have been because I got better grades.


I was always good at school

and I could walk there

from my house.

From my old house.


The taxi starts moving

away from the house and the cat.

The taxi driver has

stopped drumming.