Dream Keys
by Odin Roark

A NY mantra
Rent the rentable
Move the movable
Key the keyable

Apartments

Four-wall-guardian of yesterday’s youth
Vacuous cellmates of old age loneliness
All part of a cyclic maze
All having a key
Urban life’s Rubik’s Cube turnover

Today’s the day

“Two rooms”
“New paint”
“Clean window”
“No-squeaky floorboards”
Superintendent loves to present

Move in

Keys
Entrance door
Mailbox
Apartment
Laundry room

All yours

A windowsill vase of plastic roses
Your welcome of faded memories
The window to the people below
Your traveled city as roommate
Through another glass darkly

Gotta love it

Pea green layering
Over cracked and peeling bygones
Your very own chipped-paint scrapbook
A giant shoebox of ghostly images
Once possessing your castle-keys

Settle in

Struggle
Dream
Survive
Stand at your window
Watch canyon updrafts
Swirl your make-believe snowflakes
Carrying them skyward
Mixing with sparkling darkness
Where every star is yours

Count the days

Where light to see
Will be owned by neighboring towers
Where former tenants came young
Left old
Where thrown cups and china
Christened walls
And confinement’s anger and tears
Found solace in an ever inviting empty bathtub

Where pounding fists
Rattled bathroom door hinges
While a child hid beneath a bed
Smiling tearful thanks
To a wanderlust roach
His ever-faithful friend

All yours

Here
Where a Sammy Glick got started
And an undergrad
An engineer
A Radical leftist
A piano teacher
All touched
All turned
All once secured your keys

So

Add your imprint
Become tomorrow’s remembered page
Life's photo albums know no end
This is Manhattan
Scenes will erupt
Sameness will repeat
Life will live
Maybe live some more

Then

Your turn to pass the keys
Your turn to pile worn memories at the curb
Mattresses always appreciated
Stand across the street
Watch the ever-smiling Super
Hand the keys to the next habitant
And then…

Go

Never to forget your contribution
Leaving behind another preparatory memory
Allowing the coming year
Your next season of imaginings
To dream of another home
Somewhere
Waiting…

Gifted with keyless entry?
Loneliness gone?