We did not stay in the small apartment
my mother found on Bristol Street,
Brownsville, Brooklynn, USA.
We did not stay because the dim bulb that hung
from a chain swung back and forth
when our upstairs neighbors walked
across their floor, casting shadows
that made my brother cry
and s** hard on his middle fingers.
We did not stay because the building was big and old
and when the bathroom ceiling fell
into the bathtub, my mother said,
I am not Henny Penny and that is not the sky!
So she called Aunt Kay and her boyfriend, Bernie,
they borrowed a truck and helped us pack,
bundled us up in winter coats
turned off that swinging light
and got us out of there!