Faucets and pipes
Continue leaking.
The perishables call
And respond their song
Of tuneful rot.
Ants snowball and bolt
Toward the kitchen.
Lights shut off. Then others
Come, eat decaying matter
In solid darkness.
Dust mites finish
The last skin flakes.
Sago palms outlive the pets,
Which starve, or perform
An escape and get attacked
By predators. Ivy covers
The stucco and spreads
Into spaces between wood siding.
Silverfish tuck into the glue
And acid-free paper
Of each title on the bookshelf.
