966

the neighbors above
started screaming at three
in the morning
the man throwing things
slamming cabinets
this,
I assumed
maybe it was the woman
or his partner
I didn’t hear clearly

I saw him smoking
on the stairs the next morning
I had a loaf of bread
under my arm
he nodded with smoke
pouring out of his mouth

I didn’t ask if everything
was okay because
I didn’t honestly care

I had been in screaming matches
and had thrown enough
stuff around the apartment
in years past
to give him
or them
the benefit of the doubt

mostly
I didn’t care