circular staircase

It was a vacant house
full of that good potato salad and Luther Vandross
sing alongs, tight roller sets, and easy laughter
cautious windows watching over the neighbors

it was an old house
first built on the block
painted brick and that tree the kids used to climb
R&B in the kitchen, bikes in the driveway

it was a nice house
first Black family on the block
hydrandreas fading pink, porch chairs empty
a mantel crowded with graduation photos

it was a family home
lit red and blue from the ambulance lights
a stuffed mailbox of past due statements and flyers
hushed arguments around the dining room table

It was a vacant house
but never empty