The apartment is lived in,
the life of the tenant
scattered everywhere,
the walls,
the floor,
the ceiling.
The bed’s unwashed,
the laundry unfolded
and scattered across the floor.
The cat’s fed,
bowl full until at least
the end of the week,
but the litter box is overflowing,
its stink filling up the apartment,
overwhelming in its intensity.
The cat cuddles with her owner,
once attentive, now aloof,
uncaring.
The mail piles up
on the floor
in front of the door.
Bills, bills, and more bills,
waiting for attention,
the red lettering bright and angry.
The woman’s coworkers grumble,
angry at her for not showing up,
especially now,
with an important project in the works,
but no one knows her phone number,
let alone where she lives.
They soothe themselves with cursing her name,
not bothering to wonder
if she’s okay.
The neighbors talk behind her back,
complaining about her lack of
interest in their lives.
They say she is unkempt,
that she is snobby,
that she is above them,
all the while nobody wonders
why she hasn’t left the house,
nobody wonders where she has gone.
The neighbors complain
of the smell,
the strange neighbor.
To the landlord,
but he only cares about
his money, not the people providing it.
The landlord finally investigates
when the rent is due and
she has not paid.
When she is found,
the cat next to her,
it is a nightmarish scene.
The cat was only fed until the end of the week,
she thought someone would find her sooner,
But…
it took a month
for someone to come in,
evidence of a lonely life.
She kept to herself,
they all say,
How could they have known?
The apartment is scrubbed clean,
biohazard removal coming in,
stripping all signs of the last tenant.
It is hard work,
expensive work,
and the landlord finds himself wondering
why couldn’t she have gone somewhere else,
anywhere else,
so he wouldn’t have to clean up after her.
Her belongings are tossed,
no family coming to claim them,
and her life is erased,
Just like that.
The cat is removed,
Along with the litter box,
Not knowing where her owner has gone.
And after the cleanup has finished,
the tools gone,
and the apartment empty,
it is a blank canvas,
for the next tenant,
waiting to be lived in.
