thers a hous ther n a
heetid pool
n th fauna n firament is
veree lush th flora
no worreez ar ther nobodee fights
evreethings ok whats sew
wrong abt that n peopul love
each othr thats all we want
dont play cruel games
with yr love allowances onlee
ths much heer n that much ther
n thn withdraw th blessing
all thees nosyuns uv powr
access born from neglekt
caws n bring war fighting

pray 4 th buffrs if its not 2 late
that will help us let go let
go with love n go on

at th end uv th street thers a
chance can it go eithr way
n a gardn bhind th hous wher we
can feel th songs uv th erth n heer
thos without peopuls distorsyuns

we ar made 4 duplisitee n hurt no

no wun steps in xsept in th hospital
wher nothing goez unattendid n
we can build a hous in th gardn a
kind uv tree hous n latr we destroy
it ovr disagreementz abt its
design n boundareez

thers a hous at th end uv th street
we sing out all th possibul answrs
teers treeming down our faces
n mocking how our specees cud
get bettr what is th answr what is
th qwestyun gertrude stein askd
what is thers no answr no glee club
on saturdayze no remors lessons
on thursdays or bird watching
evree second munday no wun rite

trying ths nu dans step proovd
2 much 4 anee uv them anee
uv us yet until we can we

can we rebuild th tree hous wun
branch at a time ths time without
blame games fingr pointing or
guilt metaphorikul snakes judging
fals rumours n reports focusing on
each uv ourselvs ourselvs finding
th wayze th hous is not at th end uv
th street th street has no end

Originally published in White Wall Review 41 (2017)