Early Retirement on North Street

The house I lived in hadn't a lawn or porch; It rose straight up from sidewalk into sky. At night cars idled, voices floated in, But floated out more quickly, to my ease. Sometimes a nightmare woke me up to hear Quiet or the quietening street—sometimes The clock tick measuring out the dark. And though My room was almost bare, the rent was cheap. I cherished those four peeling walls which kept Me close to life yet far enough away.