the animal house

she lived

across the street from the zoo.

i called her

zoo girl.

at night

i could hear

the monkeys

chattering, 

i could hear the elephants

doing

what elephants do.

i could hear the lions

roar,

the seals clap their

paws together.

i could even hear 

the rhinoceros's snore.

but that's not what kept

me up night.

it was her radiator,

seventy-five years old

spitting and groaning

upon her floor.