Locks

The clapboards are grey and worn,
the paint long since gone,
the wood rotted and weak.
The nails that once held them together are rusted.
The roof leaks, the slate shingles cracked
and separated.

It is only a matter of time before it falls,
another victim of neglect, where
the only thing still strong
are the locks,
the assurance that no one gets in,
and no one gets out
alive.