disfigured
the familiar made strange. alien
but
you know
it’s not them
this is their habitat
you
are the extraterrestrial
lost on a foreign planet
Without adequate preparation, homecomings can be excruciating.
your father drives you to the house
you brace yourself
you’ve seen enough movies to imagine
but instead
there’s nothing
no charred skeleton
no caved-in walls
only a path
a wrought-iron railing
two concrete steps
and a gaping hole
mounds of ash
charred pipe
a toilet
tears roll down your father’s cheeks
we should have replaced the shake shingle siding
we should have had fire extinguishers in every room
you stare at him
words snake between your teeth
(you should have evicted the freebasing drug addict in the basement)