he is a nice enough guy- slick hair, polished shoes
and she’s pretty good at keeping up with the laundry.
the kids are cute- all freckles and missing teeth,
they traipse mud through the house
it’s difficult to keep the floor clean.
he’s out late again tonight,
driving his car down side streets
but she never waits up anymore.
doesn’t want to see him wash the quiet secrets from his face
before he climbs in and soils her sheets.
her eyes close to the sound
of his shame, her own denial…
these roaches-
crawling under the darkened shades of family life.
they make their home in the cracks of her’s.
but she knows tomorrow,
she will let them stay.
