Won't Close

The hinge gave out a week ago.

Now the back door hangs loose,

won't latch,

swings slightly open on its own

like it's trying to tell me

something.

I haven't fixed it.

I leave it like this,

the gap between door and frame

growing wider

or maybe

I'm just noticing it more,

the way you notice

a loose tooth

once you know it's there.

Things break quietly.

One day they work,

the next day they don't,

and you realize

you weren't paying attention

the whole time they were

coming undone.

I look at the hinge—

corroded metal,

the screws still in place

but the mechanism

seized,

rusted,

unable to do the one thing

it was built to do:

seal the space,

close the gap,

keep the inside

separate from the outside.

I could fix it.

I know that.

But instead

I leave it open,

let the cold air in,

let the door swing

like it's asking

a question

I don't know how to answer.