Lethal Home Etiquette
A poem of self destruct
You left the door open
after three days, a slight chill
a cool breeze that bit my skin.
*
After a month,
snow flurries covered the entrance,
harsh winters soon followed,
shoveling up the remnants of your exit.
*
After three months,
it started to thaw,
frozen panels dripping wet,
residual damage of the door becoming a threat.
*
After six months,
watercolor poppies and hummingbirds
hummed,
i watched from the inside, as I was greeted
by ribbons of the sun.
*
I waited, and waited, and waited,
winter, summer, spring,
now fall,
i realized no one was coming back at all,
to close the door.
*
Thought to myself,
how ridiculous it is to have my front door open
all the time.
*
Permitting intrusion without ammunition
while roughing it out,
in brusque, harsh conditions.
*
I glanced outside,
a cool breeze bit my skin,
snow flurries started to cover the entrance.
*
The risk was far too great to endure another
year,
of chilly throbs, and starless drear.
*
With every passing day, piles on another chore,
no one was coming home; that’s when i decided it was time,
for me to close the door.
About the Creator
Natasha Collazo
Selected Writer in Residency, Champagne France ---2026
The Diary of an emo Latina OUT NOW
https://a.co/d/0jYT7RR
Reader insights
Outstanding
Excellent work. Looking forward to reading more!
Top insights
Eye opening
Niche topic & fresh perspectives
Heartfelt and relatable
The story invoked strong personal emotions
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Poetry Workshop
Previously, I published my first ever exclusive story on Vocal. If you’ve subscribed to my work, then you have access to it. Thank YOU for your support. I hope to make each read worth your while. So with that, I’ll be posting insights for exclusive readers only, such as a workshop on my craft. The hows and who’s of my stories. Pretty much revealing my secrets on how I write with you. So welcome fam, and let’s get started!
By Natasha CollazoExclusive • about a year ago
Comments (32)
Congrats on Top Story!🥳
Wow, powerful! Congratulations on the well-deserved top story!🎉🎉🎉
I somehow missed reading this… excellent! Congratulations on Top Story and Leaderboard placing✅🤩
That was phenomenal! Congrats on making the Leaderboard!😊
A Masterpiece indeed
Absolutely stunning. I really loved the image of the ribbons of sun, beautiful metaphor 🤍
amazing work! Keep it going
amazing great concept please check my profile also
Very sad and effective use of words. Also, I LOVED the title. Congrats!
Great concept for the tale , and wonderful words
❣️ Congrats on top story!! ❣️
Superb. ❣️
How long does one wait for another who has left to return? How soon is a moment too soon to close the door & move on? What should we be willing to suffer for one who has abused us so? I have a tendency to leave those doors open way too long, also, Natasha. May yours be well shut upon what was & open anew to what will be.
I loved this! New beginnings. Congrats on Top Story!!
I really liked this. Taking responsibility; accepting change; doing what you do not want to do... Sounds like life... :)
Whoaaaa, this blew my mind! I've learned the hard way that doors are meant to be closed and stay closed. Open doors are just not worth the mental torture that comes with it. You know the saying, when one door closes, another opens? I've always hated that saying. Because another door never ever seemed to open. But now I realised that for my mental peace, I want all doors closed. Your poem was so powerful and eye opening! I loved it so much! Congratulations on your Top Story! 🎉💖🎊🎉💖🎊
This is beautiful. congrats on the top story.
What a beautiful ending, tied everything together Congratualations
This felt like a reminder that we have agency; we get to choose who we let in and out, and how we clean up after those who have left. Congratulations, Natasha, on the well-deserved Top Story!
Natasha, this is breathtaking and so empowering! The cycle of life heals so many wounds and you described it beautifully! Bravo for TS, too!
congratulations on TS. this is definitely a winner!
Brilliant. I hoped you would step out come summer, but this proved harder and sadder and hopefully, in the end, stronger.
I enjoyed reading this. Good work.
That was amazing! I love the imagery and the relatable feelings of waiting for someone to return, dealing with harsh conditions, dealing with less than ideal conditions, until finally having the resolve to put an end to the waiting. That was so good.
Should it end? Should it survive? The imagery in this is great. Sad but ultimately optimistic.