It Only Looks New
These are my thoughts concerning "Sucker Punch."
One longer nail or shorter, brass or steel,
preferring hardwood over evergreen,
turning the hallway's turn by five degrees
or six, or by a tenth of that, the roof ---
each new foundation laid burns down the old.
Twelve years' construction, forty-one blueprints.
The square feet of the house keep to the ghosts
of ten by fourteen. Every other stair
leads to the master bedroom, when at all.
My hammergrip, for all this, won't stand down
against the frame that never lets me walk
away unless I stop to tweak the wires,
the pipes, or any floor's integrity.
New house, my ass. It's all replacement parts.
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