Eviction by Scott Ferry

my father’s ghost lived
in his beloved mammoth mt. condo for years

one tenant i found didn’t pay rent
blew tobacco and had a dog

he never cleaned and i attempted to evict him
phoned his mother to get money

one night the other roommates woke up at 3 am
to steps and deliberate clanking of ceramic

and when they turned on the light—
dishes stacked in exact piles

even pots and pans fitted inside each other’s
aluminum skins but they were the only ones there

the smoking renter still out drinking
they called me the next day

said everything looked ready to be placed
into boxes

my sister and i decided my father either
wanted him to move out or was packing his

brown-green 1970s plates for a move
from this state to the next

he died so suddenly after his retirement
he never got to ski again like he was 20

single drinking until 3
he wasn’t about to let someone else

inhabit his lost skin

Scott Ferry helps our Veterans heal as a RN. He has recent work in Misfit, MacQueen's Quinterly, and Spillway. His second chapbook Mr. Rogers Kills Fruit Flies will come out in October 2020 from Main St. Rag. You can find more of his work at Ferrypoetry.com.