Garbage Outside.
my married neighbors
leave their garbage outside their
apartment door and
the strings loosen— the
bags tear and the garbage spills—
leaking remains of
domestic violence
and pouring out all the words
of vain and bruises
of pain—for all the
tenants to see. with no shame
shown, but silently
until they remove
the garbage bags and dispose
them—but each time they
re-open the door—
we smell the same garbage spilled
on the kitchen floor.
Mark Anthony Thomas
Copyright © 2004