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ellis-reyesPoems
In the small house down the block... Hundreds of tangerine air fresheners hang from the ceiling. Cars come and go At all hours Furtive movement Car to house House to car In the dim light bills are traded for small baggies Bits of chemical provide relief. Temporarily Nearby... Children play Happy Ignorant of the filth that surrounds them In the small house down the block... Plastic buckets Chemicals and bleach Hollow-eyed adults use long sticks to stir the brew Fiberglass respirators and rubber gloves protect them There is no God here. Nearby... Children play Happy, smiling Curious In the small house down the block... Skeletal adults are strewn randomly on floors    couches   and     chairs Sleeping the non-sleep of the drugged undead. Cigarettes and blunts burn in ashtrays. Roaches and rats feast on ignored food Nearby... A child challenges a rat for pizza She brushes off the bugs Hunger overtaking revulsion She bites down Weekends are bad Monday she'll eat again at school Where she's fed her only reliable meals. -- she hates Spring Break -- In the small house down the block... A toddler bobbles around He looks into this He looks into that Curious about the world around him A bucket with bubbles That's fun. The bubbles are deep He leans over He reaches down, down, down SPLASH!!! It must have been the sirens that caused them to stir. It wasn't his agonized screams It wasn't the girl's wailing and tears Huh? Wha? They rise Unfocused, unaware, unconcerned 3:19 PM In the small house down the block... A 17 month old boy dies of chemical burns To the eyes, nose, trachea, and lungs Nearby... The skeletal adults are angry that they will receive $357.84 less in welfare payments next month.
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Aug 29, 2019
Aug 29, 2019 at 11:20 PM UTC
Down the Block
In the small house down the block... Hundreds of tangerine air fresheners hang from the ceiling. Cars come and go At all hours Furtive movement Car to house House to car In the dim light bills are traded for small baggies Bits of chemical provide relief. Temporarily Nearby... Children play Happy Ignorant of the filth that surrounds them In the small house down the block... Plastic buckets Chemicals and bleach Hollow-eyed adults use long sticks to stir the brew Fiberglass respirators and rubber gloves protect them There is no God here. Nearby... Children play Happy, smiling Curious In the small house down the block... Skeletal adults are strewn randomly on floors    couches   and     chairs Sleeping the non-sleep of the drugged undead. Cigarettes and blunts burn in ashtrays. Roaches and rats feast on ignored food Nearby... A child challenges a rat for pizza She brushes off the bugs Hunger overtaking revulsion She bites down Weekends are bad Monday she'll eat again at school Where she's fed her only reliable meals. -- she hates Spring Break -- In the small house down the block... A toddler bobbles around He looks into this He looks into that Curious about the world around him A bucket with bubbles That's fun. The bubbles are deep He leans over He reaches down, down, down SPLASH!!! It must have been the sirens that caused them to stir. It wasn't his agonized screams It wasn't the girl's wailing and tears Huh? Wha? They rise Unfocused, unaware, unconcerned 3:19 PM In the small house down the block... A 17 month old boy dies of chemical burns To the eyes, nose, trachea, and lungs Nearby... The skeletal adults are angry that they will receive $357.84 less in welfare payments next month.
Based on a true story
ellis-reyes
Written by
ellis-reyes
M/American
Aug 29, 2019
Aug 29, 2019 at 11:20 PM UTC
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