Escrow

The envelope has a glass window

showing my name and the wrong amount of money.

It sits on the table next to the toaster

while I look at the stack of manuals in the drawer.

The dishwasher hums a broken note,

the furnace needs a filter I haven't bought.

There is no one to call to ask

if the roof will hold through April.

The diagrams for the water heater

are yellowed and curling at the edges.

I am the only one in the house

who knows where the main valve hides.