The Electrician

Poetic Prose

 1990:
Jonathan moves into a veritable death trap
Within which crude, corroded wiring is able to flare up
Burn down at any moment
He swears to no one in particular
Repairs will be made
He professes  to no one in particular
Adjustments will be made.

Jonathan molds the location into his own
Tempts friends and family over
They express exigent apprehension and
A desire to help
He politely declines
He says he can take care of it
As these words echo in the hollow home.

2000:
Jonathan’s defeated demeanor wins out and
He fancies his home for what it is
A decade of degradation in solitude
More insecure than ever before
More unstable than ever before.

Jonathan has had no visitors for some time or
Perhaps he has
but the doorbell is not working
Existing solely inside his home
He has largely become unknown.

2010:

Jonathan rewired the malevolent circuitry integrated into his home
Through cutting and splicing he
attempted to make right the dangerous flow
The freshman attempt impressed passer-bys as he flicked on the lights
and emerged outside.

2011:

Jonathan sits quaintly in a soft sofa supinely
dutifully destroying envelopes with a ferocious blade
below a faintly fluctuating light
Scanning the bill for his requisite renovations
Realizing with the flickering beam above
His work had been for naught.

The bulb blows out and
Jonathan drops the blade
The electrical fire begins and
 his house burns to the ground.