In the City

the man was a hoarder
though I never knew him
but only by the things he left behind

old records, typewriters,
dozens of shirts all the same

oh the garbage!

it took an industrial size dumpster
to carry all the weight

and the Italian neighbor,
having had it up to here
with her parking space being taken,
coming out, time and again,
only saying "move,"
then throwing back her hair

the lull of the block
in mid afternoon

a broken mirror
sunlight coming through the window
and catching each piece of glass

before we knew it
the man had come back to life
if only to find his home empty
and neighbors disgruntled