The Weight of Water

The story of the basement flooding: When
the rain came down for days and days,
the sewer grates were overflowing, and
the carpets were indelibly stained.
The bottoms of the boxes couldn't take
the weight of water, so, when we lifted, all our stuff fell into
the pool below. And so floating in
the shit and piss with
the leaves and sticks
the rain brought in were

all our childhood memories,
all our A's on our papers,
all our baby books and clothes.