Friday, February 22, 2008

He ran to the basement

as soon as he heard the water splashing
riotously against his expensive fitness equipment.
He just barely had gotten the breach stopped
when he heard the roof groaning in protest.
He hurriedly brought beams to the attic to
shore it up, and was just about finished
when the furnace began thumping and
banging in loud protest.
He brought out the battered tool chest
and spent the rest of the evening
calming its metal innards down.
Exhausted, he slumped in his trusty chair
only to see cracks spreading up the walls
like vines driven by radioactivity.
He furiously spackled until he couldn't stand
any more, and fell asleep right on the floor.
He was awakened a short time later by
zapping and buzzing electrical outlets.
They were sparking dangerously so he cut
the power and lay in the dark thinking
about when the house was new
and everything worked perfectly
and it had been his pride and place
of perfect contentment.
Now the upkeep was taking all his time,
and he was wondering how long it would
be before the whole thing collapsed.
Hell, he thought, maybe I should just let it.
There's only so much weather any house
can take.

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