Do Not Disturb
a new poem by Noll Griffin
Do Not Disturb
The rundown rubber of my boot on the door was pathetic,
one rebellious foot against a pre-war building’s stack of winters
with a basement ghost hanging its wrinkles in my guts.
Every crack was a smug line of landlord teeth
that couldn’t be reached when the rain froze inside.
The first time I got locked out, the nocturnal coffee shop
had more questions than the chalkboard brought inside.
Why wasn’t I home in California? Small talk, a sticky wrapper
from whatever I licked when they pulled the candy arrow out.
The hotel’s booking page and the bay burned in history.
I hungered through its rooms, huddled over my phone,
and pretended I could fly back anytime.
Noll Griffin (he/him) is a visual artist, writer, and musician based in Berlin, Germany. His first chapbook titled “Tourist Info” is available through Alien Buddha Press. You can find him on Instagram at @nollprints or on Tumblr/Twitter/Bluesky under @nollthere.
