Babo Kamel
Below a sky that holds nothing
— after Hopper House by the Railroad, 1925
I Beside the railway track a house fades into its abandonment The paint on the outside once a deep shade of teal remains only its thin suggestion Each window blind half- shades the weight of emptiness cracking the sills This was someone’s childhood— that long forgotten self that waited for someone to enter II To enter you must first assume that a door left open is the invitation Honor it as you would a confidence from a new friend who risks a crack in the fence around her silence Hold it close to your chest, as you would a fallen bird
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