Drano Didn’t Work

Roy’s Sewer Service is here
and from the roof of this
two-story we call home
but don’t own, Roy himself
(no, it couldn’t be Roy
because the guy up there
just grunts Yep and Nope,
he’s sweaty in worn pants,
he isn’t listening to a word I’m saying,
and wouldn’t Roy himself at least act
as if he cared about my opinion?)…
Let’s say, a man who I wish were
Roy himself
is shoving a clean-out rooter
down the maw of this house,
which has accumulated
many years of cloggage
(is that a word like
“baggage” is a word?)
and the walls
resound and groan
and all I can think is
this place
is going to have
one very
sore
throat.

Cathryn Shea is the author of four poetry chapbooks, most recently the micro chapbook “My Heart is a Salt Mirror Like Salar de Uyuni” (Rinky Dink Press, 2018) and “It’s Raining Lullabies” (Dancing Girl Press, 2017). Her poetry has been nominated for Sundress Publication’s Best of the Net 2017 and recently appears in Tar River Poetry, Gargoyle, Permafrost, Rust + Moth, Tinderbox, and elsewhere. See www.cathrynshea.com and @cathy_shea on Twitter.