Every night, we sat in the stairwell.
Our next door neighbors had to yell
To each other across their condo hall
Because of his secret phone call,

And from the other side of our wall
Was a teenage brawl.
Spurts of laughter and cheers
Echoed after a couple of beers.

Dawn again, across the street,
The suited up early birds had to fleet
In their cars, and you would groan—
Is that the only life that they have ever known?

Noon, the cooling ventilator
Hummed, gave off a breath much greater
So that we could finally show those knees.
The vents sneezed to blow out those dust bunnies.

Our nerves were tattered like that white flag,
You had rather clung to my minor nag
To keep it toasty until twilight,
When it was time again in bed to sit upright;

But we were young, did not long for much
But each others soft touch,
Since we could not hear ourselves above
Their drunk cackles and his unfaithful love.