my married neighbors
leave their garbage outside their
apartment door and

the strings loosen--- the
bags tear and the garbage spills---
leaking remains of

domestic violence
and pouring out all the words
of vain and bruises

of pain---for all the
tenants to see. with no shame
shown, but silently

until they remove
the garbage bags and dispose
them---but each time they

re-open the door---
we smell the same garbage spilled
on the kitchen floor.

Mark Anthony Thomas
Copyright © 2004
F rom The Poetic Repercussion

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