Corrosion

The drawer is mostly lint and takeout menus

from places that stopped delivering years ago.

Under a crust of leaked AA batteries,

I found the circle of brass.

The acid has done a job on the name.

"Buster" is missing the middle,

just a B and a ragged R left

trailing off into a white, salty bloom.

It’s a small thing to throw away

now that the keys are labeled for the next person.

I wiped my thumb on my jeans

and felt the sting of the powder.