poem of the day 05.13.15

upstairs downstairs

upstairs

my neighbor put on his music

the kind that reigned terror

and held an apartment building hostage

while downstairs

my fiancé unpacked the kitchen

as i tried getting our living room in order

i shouted to her

do you hear that shit?

my fiancé came into the living room

of our shit-hole railroad apartment

she cast her eyes up to the ceiling and sighed

again, i said

we’d been through it with neighbors

club girls and party girls

a bitch in pittsburgh who blasted steelers games

at top volume

when she wasn’t killing us with garth brooks

the dog who barked into our window at 3 a.m.

until i threatened to kill it and its owner

on new year’s eve

upstairs

my neighbor was pacing to his music or dancing

or whatever the fuck he was doing to create more noise

while downstairs

i grabbed a broom without a handle

and started pounding into the ceiling

the rusted metal leaving pock marks all over

and chunks of plaster on our floor

we hadn’t even been there three hours yet

day one into a one-year brooklyn lease

and things were already looking bleak

but at least the music had stopped

is it me? i said

is it just my luck, my lot in life?

my fiancé shrugged, went back to unpacking the kitchen

while upstairs

my neighbor shouted and punched walls

made idle threats into the unknown

before slamming his front door

and pounding his way toward me

all the way

downstairs