Demolition

The bonnet of the car was open

Propped up with a branch

The oil was done

Grapes were bunching on the vine

It was just morning

I had put on a belted coat to come outside

They’re tearing down the building next door

She said

Twisting at the cap, face down, elbow out

The dew was close enough to miss her

On the grass all around

I held two cigarettes in two hands

These are yours, I said

Come away from there

Am I allowed, she said

To smoke with you now?

Since that day

I have forged a deal with next door

I had some waste to dispose of

Mainly unspeakable rubble

I walked up to the building site

Tilting back my head

Here, I said

I live just here

Might I suggest a trade?

They said, good woman

The larger the skip

The more it is yours

Well, I said

A hot drink how about it

They said

We’ve had just about enough of those

And I tipped in the stones with delight

I kept what I could for them

My best conversation

An infectious smile

I had no work of my own at the time

Nothing, they say, in the pipe

No smoke

No money

Not a coin

I lived on a thin pole

I had learned to instigate connection

But very little more

The demolition took less of a turn

With each day that passed

In one day fifty bricks were unstuck

Eventually the mortar chipped off

The buyer came

The workers shook off their tabards

And scattered

When I saw the house

Where the house had been

My mouth parted