Leaving Our Houses Late at Night

Sometimes
when my mom has left
my father's house
after cleaning it with such diligence

even if the flares of volatility
were particularly bad
this visit

it starts to resemble quite a lot
the house as it looked
years ago

at the start
when she lived here
as well.

When my mother leaves
my father's house
late at night

she asks me
to watch out the window
to see her to her car
as if threats are lurking

the way her father watched over her
and I walking to our old Cavalier
when we'd leave his house
late at night.

So I do.