The apartment building

The apartment building

There is always a giveaway.

The smell of old-age

The filter of coffee and boiled cabbage

The aroma of lavender,

The headiness of Chanel

Oozing out of an open window in the alley

The giggle of pleasure

Rarely heard in the afternoon

In a house full of history

Where the cracks in the walls

Widen with every new day.

When the lights go down

The moon brings its mocking face

To bear witness

As tired bodies weighed down by time

Wait for the spirit to move them

Three fingers in an old glass

A swig from a bottle

Chased down with a handful of aspirin.

Sons and daughters

Rarely visit

The ground floor where skeletons

Fall out of closets,

Brittle bones splinter

Too easily for climbing the stairs.

The rooftop garden

A haven for youngbloods

Seeking respite from the stink

Of the street.

The moon looks more inviting

As an accompaniment to flirtation

When drinks are poured into glasses

That chink.

Smoky street lights

Have a way of changing their affiliation

The twinkle of a chameleon

Affecting the mood

When the fizz and pop of a broken lamp

Can be mistaken for a champagne cork

Or the plop of a suppressor

The bullet from a gun.

A surreal expression of distraction

A midnight disconnection

A cultural collision.

Hollywood dreams are a nightmare

When every shadow is a monster

Waiting to pounce

And nightcrawlers with wanderlust

Wish they were tucked up

Safe and sound

Cradled in a bed of their own making.