a dried moth

the floor vent rattled all night. i went down to the basement. pulled the cardboard filter from the furnace slot. it was packed with thick grey fuzz. stray hairs and flakes of dead skin. months of us breathing in this cheap rental. i held the mesh under the bare bulb. a dried moth was stuck in the folds. i dropped it in the trash can with the empty bottles. shoved a new white filter in. the gas burner caught with a heavy thump. blowing the smell of scorched dust through the floorboards.