Swallowed by Suburbia

     I lost myself somewhere
In the expanse
Between the driveway and the front porch
Sliding between the cracks
In the sidewalk
The pitch-black roofs
Rising above me
Until the stars were blocked
From view
My ears hummed with
The echo of traffic
And I forgot the sound
Of my own breathing
The ants crept into
My crevice
And considered my presence
“Shhh,”
I whispered pleadingly,
“I am hiding
Hibernating
Until the jump rope
That tethers me here
Unknots itself and at last
I am set free.”