the difference
between poetry
and prose—
go run some errand;
go walk a few miles
in a midwestern winter
in a pair of wool
socks and stiff
waterproof boots—then
come inside,
undress in the dark,
and cross,
just once
from end to end
the lonesome hallowed hallway
that is most
of your apartment
one step, then the next,
on its warm bars
of hardwood—
in nothing
but your bare toes.
