The gutter hasn't been cleaned in months

The gutter hasn't been cleaned in months.

Maybe longer.

The leaves are matted black with moisture,

stuck against the metal like they've always been there,

like they grew there,

like they're part of the structure now.

The water pools above them,

not draining,

not moving,

just sitting in its own small stagnation.

I can see a soda can wedged in there.

Debris caught and staying.

Nobody maintains this building.

Nobody's going to fix it.

The water will sit there until the rain comes again

and it overflows,

and then someone will complain

about water in the basement,

about damage,

about how could this happen,

as if it wasn't predictable,

as if the evidence wasn't right there,

visible from the ground,

backed up and obvious,

for anyone who bothered to look.

I looked.

Now I can't stop looking.