Apartment Stories

People moving in and out every week:

Some here to stay a while; others tempo-

rary until a more suitable place is found.

How many stories reside in a ten-storey

apartment building, how many lives yelled

out loud in the middle of the night?

How many silently wished and whispered

away? I’ve lost count, there is no measure-

ment taken which can accurately say.

Some acknowledge others in passing, and

then there are those who wouldn’t give the

time of day.

People, young and old, retired, jobless, a few

rungs up the ladder to who knows where or

When.

Dripping faucets, toilets plugged and overflowing,

music heard damn near a mile away. Doors slam-

ming night and day—The comings and the goings.

Nothing stands still. Even the old man as he sits

quietly in Apartment 316 grows older.

Chris Hanch  9-11-15