It started
with only a few hairline cracks
in our foundation
about the same time
we detected the first sugar ants
creeping across counters
you piled baking soda and borax
onto old Corelle saucers
left them beneath window sills
i sat alone and watched
The cracks undetected
soon traveled down
past the crumbling foundation
into barren soil
i sat alone and watched
Then came little plastic
containers filled with poison
hidden in kitchen corners
you were too busy to notice
the cracks had turned into fissures
long and jagged like lightning bolts
i sat alone and watched
Finally came the jugs of poison
with sprayers attached
for dousing every inch
of the yard’s perimeter
our house now engulfed
in thick layers of toxicity
you stood with head held high
and howled in triumph
i could no longer sit alone and watch
