Civic Peril
From the empty house
Next door to yours—
The one
Keeping your property value
Gullied and your yard
Mired in trash that
Seems to breed in that
Home and escape—
You heard the girl scream
And the excited sound
Of too many men sharing
Intentions. The walls
Are thin and the windows
Single-paned and that is part
Of the property value conundrum.
And it could be that the house
Is damaged in a few weak points.
So what are you going to do now?
The neighborhood does not need
Another black eye. Is
Anyone else near enough
To listen? An active citizen
Would put on his pants
And go join or interfere.
The dark is wringing out
The last of the afternoon’s shadows.
That is action. It may not
Apply, but it is action,
And you could have put on
The porch light. Or perhaps
It was only a howl.
One, or many, animals.