House Payments

A poem by C.A. Craig

“There was a storm last night”

The words streamed through lips to ears

and reminders of a water-damp cellar

filled the mind, 

as the words speak out clearly:

foundation leaking

The bank withdrawals at the beginning of the month

go to pay for mortgages toward my own courage

and yet that too is lack luster

and it seems that with the leaking things

the down payment has not quite been 

a deposit towards any sense of security

I suppose at the end of the night

with my anxiety poking, 

maybe prodding

keeping me awake

I wonder what it is I can give my girls

and just hope beyond hope

that they’ll accrue if nothing more

new stories to share 

with their own kids someday

and maybe, just maybe

a space to hold them warm

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