Work Text:
I do not like clean and neat.
It feels otherworldly.
It’s not like home.
It feels sterile.
It feels cold.
It’s not a lit cigarette.
It’s not a summer without AC.
It’s not the smell of gasoline with rain.
It feels otherworldly.
Like pristine walls.
Like Sunday Mass.
Like childhood friends.
Like playing on grass.
I do not like clean and neat.
It’s unfamiliar.
Not like the cans and bottles of escapism littered about
Not like the hole in the wall from a night that’s better to forget.
Not like the puddle at the foot of the stairs from the foundation leak.
Not like the discolored patch in the driveway from a bonfire with friends.
I do not like clean and neat
…
But I can’t stay here.