There had been a murder here,
my neighbors were eager to inform me.
Blood on the ceiling, arterial fantails.
A dispute between thugs or so they said.
Shotgun or knife – I can’t remember,
but I do know he did have a hook for a hand.
In all such matters people speak much and say little.
What I do know is the peace of an evening
spent drilling out anchors, pulling up nails,
sanding, painting, and putting in shelving –
adding to what’s already there, the new arrival
following a beaten trail to impose himself
on once contested land. If I run a finger
along a sill, I meet with clutters
of beetle and fly husks. As everywhere,
there have been many deaths in this house.
Spoken word artist Richard-Yves Sitoski is the Poet Laureate of Owen Sound, Ontario, Canada, and has released two collections of verse, brownfields (2014, Ginger Press) and Downmarket Oldies FM Station Blues (2018, Ginger Press), and a CD of spoken word poetry, Word Salad (2017).