My neighborhood At the bottom of the mountain An old house A house that was falling down Without a gate An old tree next to it No sibling She lived in a house without them She sang well Red books well Spoke well the old tree alone Covered the yard and the roof The house shivered in the cold I hid behind and just looked at the small small very small door where the swaying lantern light leaked out Every time I heard the rustling sound Tears fell And then spring came again A few months had passed since I saw her Rumors spread Proud Mary dropped out of school couldn't go to the hospital couldn't leave the house and from that night I couldn't hear koff koff sound any longer.