our first lease

In the house with the vines-
the ones that twirled and fought for air
we re-arranged furniture
to better calm our minds

in the house with the vines
where we lived above the deaf lady
with the obese dog,
we whispered about plans of forever.

I wonder if she could ever
hear the creak of the floorboards
our muffled moans, our silent rapture

In the house with the vines,
we exhaled smoke in the alley
full of gravel and soot-
posed for photos and past predictions

I forgot how the vines died and bloomed
in the 15 months we lived there,
how they encapsulated our beginning.