Reading the cheerful taglines
On the places you can still afford to rent
You wonder where the money went
It was just there

Scaling up the blurry pictures
Flashes bouncing off the windowpanes
Paint peeling off the wooden frames
Dust everywhere

Crooked tiles on the bathroom walls
Funny little entrance halls
It gets to be
Too much to bear

Could you ever call it home?

All you wanted was
A country house in the city
Fruit trees, luscious and pretty
Needing no care

A respectable assortment of linen
Some go-to menus for dinner
And quiet weekends