Homecoming

Do you remember the red
shade of mahogany wood floors
and the face in the back of the bathroom door
and the bruised
prunes split open
in the grass, in the back yard?

Do you remember the black
alley in the back
of the garage, where spiders lived
and grandpa's ax, and the wood pile?

Do you remember running
down the hallway, doors slamming
and the old groan
of electric heating?

The countertops were laminate with ivy printed in green,
The cabinet doors heavy enough
to crack your head,
and one winter, do you remember, the basement flooded?

Mold grew up the walls beneath the house.
I remember the stains--
we lost so many boxes.