Past Tenants Poem by Raj Dronamraju

This shoplot has had several tenants
The first tenant was a yarn and fabric store where they sold different colored yarn off the spool
The second tenant was a deli where they sold lukewarm pizza by the slice that was greasy and tasteless
The third tenant was a video store that was always late in getting new releases

Now the front door is padlocked and the grill pulled down
The windows are blacked out
This emptiness is catching
The shop lot next door recently became empty too

I never measured out yarn for purchase or ate pizza or rented a video
I moved too sluggishly to get a piece of this urgency
I am only able to share in the unoccupied space left behind