The not so fun house

I could have put up with all of it -
the toilets that clanked in the night,
the kitchen light that sparked
before anyone touched the switch, the windows
that rattled when even the ghost of my neighbor
walked his dog past my door, the voices
that muttered of blood and worry
from the washing machine in the basement.

I only worried when the mirrors stopped working,
so hard to shave staring into nothing at all,
or watching the reflection of some other self
staring back, doing nothing, bored as hell.
The worst was when the bedroom mirror
only showed me alone under a white sheet
in a silent room, and that little man would shiver
as if he felt me watching him for hours
and it even creeped him out.

That was when I decided to move,
but I thought it was a nice touch
when the thief in the hall mirror
dropped and shattered my television set
just so he could wave goodbye.

Mark Aiello