Don some perfume before we leave

You see, a tacit but crucial rule

For these half-empty bottles of drugstore air

Mask the marigolds in our pedigree

We do not reveal the magic

Hidden shimmering beneath our skin

Propagated through the generations

Passed lock and key to me

The wallpaper peels, the floorboards reek

And the windows creak of death

But that ivy-gilded house is still a house

And at least the last digit’s not four

Father softly held his breath when

He saw his office-warehouse-living-room

In spectacular show he threw off the sheets

That remain on the ground in dust

Mother clung onto silent tears when

Her heart was sawed in half

With littered hands she lifted her smile

Too heavy to bear behind curtains drawn

We do not unveil the tricks

Fluttering feathers in our sleeves

Caged there for centuries now

But today I let set them free

And today the muted marigold scent

Permeates our quick-changed home

You see, a bottle of CVS perfume

Still works like a charm these days