Quintin Collins
Sold As-is
You know what might be the most American thing there is? Forgetting.
–Kyle Dargan
as the pilasters and facade symmetry show the house is a charming new
england
colonial and it’s a steal for what you get in this neighborhood
the fenced-in yard provides extra privacy and security
the house needs some tlc but don’t fret the property suffered
a fire in 1992 the damage was light
the homeowners remediated that issue however the house
sits on a floodplain there might still be mold
from 2005 they did all they could with what resources
they had the foundation
started cracking a few hundred
years ago previous owners never repaired
the damage I imagine you could patch the cracks
with one of those home depot kits the house
will be fine the mothers choking on their children’s blood
is a low keening that’s the house settling
all old houses do that this one was built
before 1970 you have to be careful of lead
bullets asbestos tear
gas leaks knob and tube wiring
one final thing i should tell you people have died
in the house some natural causes
some murders
but if you don’t believe in ghosts or oppressed people
then you have nothing
to worry about the price
is competitive for the neighborhood if you want
gut the whole place
sounds like fun to take
a sledgehammer to these old walls
Quintin Collins has works that have appeared or are forthcoming in Threshold, Glass Mountain, Eclectica, Transition, and elsewhere. A graduate of the Solstice MFA program, Quintin is a managing editor at a digital marketing agency, where he publishes writing craft blogs. If Quintin were to have one extravagance, it would be a personal sommelier to give him wine pairings for books.
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