There's a house for sale on Queensway
The for sale sign has a gang tag
Written in jet black spraypaint
Signed with a warning
It seems
Or an unwritten order to stay away
It's a cute little house
Big lilac bushes in full bloom
Wooden plank siding
Small garage and a small driveway
Nice backyard that would invite a good garden
Across the street a ways is a park
That isn't busy often
The ducks like to swim in the water body there
And the small parking lot is gravel and stone
Marbled boulders frame the space
And the trees whisper softly in the breeze
The city sounds seem to vanish there
It's almost peaceful
It seems
The house hasn't sold yet
And it's been more than two years now
The sign hasn't been replaced
And the painted tag hasn't been scrubbed off
Like the neighborhood has it pinned
Prisoner
Vacant of a family
But never of the fear
It seems