Spring/Summer 2015
CLEANING HOUSE
She put her heart on the market
After emptying its obsolete debris
The bed with the tear-stained mattress
The photos with the shattered frames
The bottles of perfume and whiskey
The flowers scattered over the floor
The shards of the broken records
The splinters of the fractured phone
And when it was all disposed of
Donated or simply thrown out
She walked through to open the windows
So a fresh wind could clear the air
But she kept one thing from the wreckage
That maybe had meant the most
The box she had always kept hidden
Concealing a small jewel of hope
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Richard Schnap is a poet, songwriter and collagist living in Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania. His poems have most recently appeared locally, nationally
and overseas in a variety fo print and online publications.