Hotel Earth
Cornices overgrown with moss, the stoop
With nettles, flower beds
Hardly discernible beneath brambles and weeds—Next door was a place where drinks
Were sold, so I ordered
A glass of red wine. The Earth?For years it never changed, said the bartender.
Now kids won’t come around at night.
Doors close by themselvesAs if clouds were gathering—bang!
Footsteps climb the staircase, one, two—
I paid the tab.