(after ash ascoli)

grief ages like / the stain on the carpet that you hide with furniture / the center of a spider crack / rusted door hinges / blood dried beneath your fingernails / coins hiding in the couch cushions / dust that settles into the cracks of the floorboards / a dull pain the doctors can’t diagnose / mopping water in a hurricane / tree roots that split the sidewalk / termites in the ceiling beams / ants in the kitchen / the door that never really locks / propping up a falling domino chain / a tattoo you regret / cramming your closet so full that things fall out when you open it / the faulty bathtub drain that holds on to all the water / dried flowers you keep out of fear of forgetting the reason why someone sent them / a bandaid on a bullethole / spilt coffee on a sweater / things the dog buried in the backyard / things you unearthed when you had to bury the dog / a tree rotting from the inside out