13 February

Comparison and contrast

2006

Fifteen years ago

it was a drizzly

February,

my first night

in my new place,

exactly like

this time around.

Back then

it was a garage

apartment coiling

out room by room

from a triangular

closet in the center.

This time

it's a second-storey

corner studio

in an apartment building

that was once

a church.

Fifteen years ago

it was a beer I wanted

more than anything,

and my new house key

was the only means of ingress.

I don't remember if I got

the bottle open,

but I didn't need stitches.

This time around

it was dilly beans

I craved.

I tried boiling water,

the back of a knife,

a sharp rap upside-down

on the counter,

but that jar might as well

have been a fortress.

What the orange

rubber gloves

were doing

hanging on the trap

under the sink,

or why it crossed my mind

to look there,

I may never know,

but I'm hoping

it's a trend.