Corralled: Shut Out, Shut In

Caught up in thinking
And talking
And then just plain lost,
Shaky and fatigued,

The one constant
Being the renovations
That keep coming and coming,
And no end in sight;

Just when I think
It’s finally over
A new round starts up,
Doesn’t this guy ever get fed up?

I bet he does,
But we all
Have to earn
A living somehow;

Nevertheless, how frustrating that just when
The hot weather eased
And I could finally
Go outside,

He’s moved his machine
To the balcony,
So I have to choose
Between relative quiet and fresh air.

I chose the former
And got on with
Some noisy work
I had to do,
In self-defense
Against his insistent brouhaha.