Three Coats Minimum

It looked like ebony in the catalog.

Deep, expensive,

the kind of surface that says

the rent is paid on time.

Then the heavy mug slipped.

Now there’s a crescent moon

of jagged white pulp

staring up through the black shine.

It’s just pressed sawdust

and a chemical prayer,

coated thick enough

to fool the neighbors

until you actually try to live on it.