The musty smell

I push the door open,

I smell it, the musty air,

Hits me square in the face,

Already, I want to turn and run,

Abandon ship.

Instead, I wrinkle my nose,

Walking around slowly,

I take it in,

Doors creaking,

Cracks all along the walls.

Opening cupboards,

Dusty air hitting me,

Scrunching up my face,

Opening doors,

Wishing I hadn’t.

Drawers cracked and broken,

Dishes left out to dry,

Watermarks on the sink,

Washcloth all dirty,

Is that mould, I see?

Old food left in the fridge,

Eggs and meat,

Dates all expired,

Months ago,

Why am I not surprised?

That lamp in the living room,

A total eyesore,

And the family photographs,

Hung on the walls,

Not my family, for sure!

Sitting on the edge of my seat,

Scared to touch anything,

Don’t want to catch anything,

I wander,

How are we going to stay here?

Such high hopes,

All but dashed to the ground,

Totally disgusted,

Still, we sleep on the bed,

All lumpy and hard.

Hours passed,

Sitting there,

Tapping our feet,

Counting down the minutes,

Till we can abandon ship.