Let's back track from 1968 to 1967 ...
His name is Jack
He's our next door neighbor
In fact, Jack lives so close that
Our front doors can steal a furtive kiss, because
Our apartments share a common wall
It is winter
A heavy snowfall, beginning at daybreak
Sweeps down throughout the day until
A blinding blizzard swirls
Our mega metropolis into such a state of
Paralysis as to have lasted for many days until
The warmth of the sun, peeking out from behind
The cloudy Midwestern sky, is empowered to
Begin to melt that astounding accumulation of
Snow, which has piled so high as to
Cause snow plows to work 24/7 to dig city out of
The dysfunctional mess that offered my fifth grade class
Reason to jump for joy at the fact that
My suburban school had been closed for two weeks!
Anyway, while this gargantuan accumulation
Of snow is melting all around us
Will and I have no reason to believe
That the rooftop of our apartment complex has
Sprung a leak just overhead, because
Our kitchen ceiling, which is situated just beneath the roof
Offers nary a clue of giving way for this reason:
Somehow, the flow of melting snow has channeled
It's way into the narrow space that separates
The exterior red brick of the apartment complex from
Our plastered kitchen wall ... And
If you ask how I know that to be true, I'd reply:
One night, several weeks after
That gargantuan blizzard died down, leaving
Our city to look like a glistening scene right out of Frozen
A noise as fearsome as an avalanche
Jars my intincts awake in such a startled state as
To sit straight up in bed and shake Will, who
Has been known to sleep as though dead to the world, and
While I can be seen leaping out of bed, Will
Who is not easily awakened, manages to muster enough
Awareness to lift his head and mutter—What's wrong, Annie?
OMG! Will! I can't believe you slept through that!
Something just happened, and we'd better find out what it is ...
Since neither of us has a clue as to what we might find
Will moves cautiously from our bedroom
Through our darkened living room and dining room, looking
This way and that while
Eyes open wide, I trail anxiously close behind ... Until
We can be seen standing
In the doorway to the kitchen where
Will's hand reaches in to
Flick the wall switch that turns on the over head light, and
Our jaws drop to see
The avalanche of soggy plaster, piled high on the stove, before
Our eyes move downward to spy the excess of sodden walling
Splattered across the small expanse of linoleum, which covers
Our tiny kitchen's hard wood floor—
And if the bad news points to the fact that
The porous state of one plastered kitchen wall
Has become so soggy, after absorbing
The weight of freshly melted snow, as to have
Fallen, enmass, straight down to the floor, thus
Exposing the exterior red brick of
Our apartment complex to the astonishment of
Our naked eyes then here's good news to follow the bad:
Many days before the sun came out to melt the ton of snow that
Had paralyzed the mega metropolis, which we call home
Will and I had made the best of this worst blizzard that
He and I had ever experienced by
Transforming a casual acquaintanceship with
Our neighbors—Jack and Jill—into a friendship that
Will have had reason to grow oh so close, over the next year, and
Once Jack's animal instinct closes in on the leopard's intentions ...
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