The Neighbors

By Kimberly Nguyễn

Posted on April 1, 2026

Cover Image Title: A Human

Cover Image by: Chris L.

Classification: Photography

Specifications: Edited from 4032 X 3024 pixels

Year: 2026

Location: Ontario, Canada

Rapid flashes of color from a mounted screen, 

A still shadow slumped in the living room   

Slow-moving silhouettes hunched over in the dining room table 

In the next bedroom window, a couple, head in hands, lumps in throats

A nice family lives in the duplex standing on one of little Italy’s many hills 

The upstairs unit houses an old school man with welcoming arms and a bank of knowledge, 

A woman who makes people question if the American Dream is truly a myth, 

And three fast-growing boys woven by brotherhood 

Through their amber-lit windows, a different light breathes over the family 

The man is weighed down by something heavier than gravity 

It drains his color, drags his skin, his body, but his head still knocks back the bottle

Drinks are no longer celebratory but a nasty habit that brings tension to his wife’s shoulders 

A shameful impulse travels through the woman’s veins, self-image is all she has left to cling  

She holds her breath while bathing in luxury items, tempting fate and waiting a piece of courage 

Hoping that it comes before the bank calls or her boys are pushed off the edge of hunger 

In their scarcity, privilege is understood differently by the boys: cheap compliments and fast food 

They survive by their brotherhood instead of individualistic freedom to live, explore, and dream

Sharp words,

Wielded pots and pans, 

Learning to personify footsteps and sighs

You don’t talk about what happens in my house 

Description: 

This piece is written and displayed as a layered image of a troubled home. On the outside, this family is loved by the community for their unity, lively, upbeat personalities - essentially a model for many. This poem acts as a reminder that no family is perfect by illustrating how each window in a sea of windows is a different, nuanced story of life, and especially hardship, as it is deemed socially ill to air “dirty laundry”. Abuse is one of the many secrets that are hidden in many homes due to its nature and manipulation of power and dynamics- this poem zooms into one of the windows where this takes place, with additional themes of hunger, addiction, neglectfulness, and the missed opportunities for youth. 

[ Writing Editor: Anonymous.  ]