Poetry by
Gregory McIntyre

Just the vacuum cleaner now Sits silent and alone Kid’s echo in my mind In this apartment that was mine

The balcony looks over slowly Moving cars winking bright The overexposed blue sky The big tree dancing its goodbye

There where we laughed And there where we fucked This place was mine but it’s reverted Vacuumed scrubbed and now deserted

Now it’s just full of air Now it’s out by five o’clock Now it’s calendars and keys Now it’s emails and cleaner’s fees

Heat rises from the carpet Climbs the stairs, invades the pipes Raids the windows from the street I smell appalling in this heat

Sweat pools in my arm pits On my stomach, round my neck My thighs stick together In this stinking summer weather

I lean down at the sink Suck water through salt cracked lips ’Til I cannot drink any more It runs down me to the floor

I walk to the balcony door To say my last goodbye A breeze picks up and passes by Summer smells and big tree pine

A million tiny hands of air Place themselves upon my skin Relief at last at the end of the day Each hand peels a piece of me away