Boarded Up

The wind turned north this morning

and started the rattling again.

The deli’s been dark since March,

but the wood is only now starting to give.

It bows out in the center

like it’s trying to take a breath it doesn't deserve.

I see the black Grade C stamp

bleeding into the yellow grain,

a cheap label for a cheap fix.

It’s supposed to keep the inside in,

but it just looks like a scab

the city is waiting to pick.