An Empty Apartment

An empty apartment, The floors bare and rough, Once covered with carpets And decked out with stuff, For years housed a tenant Who filled it with pride; Not a thing now remains, For she recently died. All her chairs and her tables, Her curtains, her bed Have been carted away Since their owner is dead. All the food in the pantry, The pots and the pans – For death likes to visit In spite of our plans. Her relatives came And they cleared the place out. They divvied possessions - Of that, I’ve no doubt. Now everything’s gone; All the cupboards are bare. The workmen come in And they start to prepare. I think for that tenant And all of her stuff The lease on her life Wasn’t quite long enough.