Thursday, June 12, 2008

False Alarm

She came to clean my hotel room
with bleach and towels, mop and broom
and when the fire alarm went off
we left together. In the rough-
edged shadows of the parking lot
she said: “Forgive me. It’s just not
what I expected when I got
my social-work degree. I thought
I could be useful helping people.”
At her waist, the hotel beeper
sounded the all-clear. We went
inside. She fetched her cart and leant
on it. The hallway smelled of fire.
“A false alarm. My God, I’m tired.”


--for Poefusion

Collection available! Knocking from Inside

10 comments:

poefusion said...

Again, you've pulled off a brilliant piece of poetry. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this. Keep up the good work. Have a nice weekend.

Pip said...

I really enjoyed this poem. Your housekeeper is so believable. You've really brought her to life in this work. I like the little details (the smell of smoke).

Anonymous said...

You offer vivid details and insight into the hotel worker's character. A pleasure to read.

mareymercy said...

This is a very concise poem. The housekeeper speaks at just the right moment, and reveals a secret we don't expect. Love the internal/slant rhymes you use here. Nicely done. "rough-edged shadows of the parking lot" is a particularly nice phrase.

Anonymous said...

Lovely, heartfelt, poignant.

Lirone said...

Manages to fit a lot of feeling into a simple series of events.

Anonymous said...

Reflects our sucky economy, too! Great last line.

Anonymous said...

surprising rhymes and thought provoking too

Anonymous said...

so many details and stories within a few lines.. flowed like water... and the story was over...

rbarenblat said...

This is really terrific.