Cleaning

by Alan Catlin

When I was 17
we were basically homeless
My father said,
"Your mother and I are
going to be living in a motel,
what are you and your sister
doing?"

I got a job cleaning
rooms in a hotel, sleeping
in a janitor's closet
I could barely fit a
ratty old mattress in

After my sister
got out of detention
she got a job there too

We took turns working
and sleeping on that
ratty old mattress

I'm not proud
what happened to me
but you have to live

I'm still cleaning rooms
but mostly in rich
people's houses

It pays pretty good if
you know what you're doing
and you actually show up
regular when you're supposed to

Now my sister's dead,
47 years old and she
died in her sleep
of natural causes,
a drug overdose

That's a natural cause
in the world we came from