By: Lynn Hoggard

I’m a house nailed shut—black, blue, and white.
My rotting wood suggests prolonged decay.
My broken screen, torn curtain, shattered pane
tell of violent entry through a door.
My rotting wood suggests prolonged decay
from lack of care. I’m nobody’s home
and will stand alone until my walls collapse.
My broken screen, torn curtain, shattered pane
show someone’s brutal effort to intrude.
He entered me, taking what he wished.
Tell of violent entry through a door
too late nailed shut, and see a ravaged tomb.
I’m less a house than a violated womb.