Good Neighbor

I wake up to the sound of a compact disc spinning

without music.

Instead of the crackle and pop of a vinyl record
the player emits a soft metallic swish.

The Bose alarm clock radio and cd combo
my first ever credit card reward.
I was excited to get something so useful for free.
    
I remember that feeling of satisfaction,
while the clock ticks up to my preset time.

Add to cart
find and click purchase
all without increase to my balance due.

It was as promised, capable of
3D bass surround sound.

Buddha Lounge IV
one of the few compact discs I have left
begins playing at low volume then
incrementally increasing
to a deep and too loud bass.

The building next to me is a single
occupancy rooming house.

A three-family home
beside
A house divided into rooms and shared kitchens.
    
One of the other side neighbors
enjoyed
Setting his speakers to the highest volume
and lowest bass.

Every day

He made the drywall shake and tremble.

I imagined large black speakers pushed up against the wall
like the ones at the dance clubs I used to frequent in my twenties.
The front section sticky from stale drinks
splashed down the sides of soft plastic ribbed cups.
I’d stuff my coat in a bundle towards the back
as the bass shook my bones and rattled my intestines.

So many of us

held hostage by his loud and heavy assertions.
It was hard to rest without silence.
It was hard to find home.
    
I plead for him to turn it down just a little bit
whispered a pained neighbor.
    
Then one day it stopped.
    
My loud neighbor was gone.
Arrested for stockpiling guns
and drugs
and bullet proof vests.
    
I roll over quickly to decrease the sound.
Lest my neighbors think
I was criminally minded.

Artist’s statement

Inspired by the stream of conscious style of Omeros by Derek Walcott. As an urban dweller with an abundance of neighbors on every block, corner and park bench, I truly believe we are all just one tiny step of dog poop away from being a good neighbor turned bad.