Laura Madeline Wiseman USA
In the New
House
We
have done nothing to improve. No caulk lines careful
along pink shower tile. No vacuum rented to wash urine
from the shag. No, we won’t upgrade or undo. No epoxy
pushed between curled lips of linoleum. Not a light bulb
unscrewed. We refuse to dismantle. We won’t take away.
Not a mothball bound to a closet rung. Not a single panel
of
faux wood from the living room wall. No, we won’t
repair or mend. We’re leaving this like it is. No tape
pressed to window holes. No white paint rolled over
orange and green. No asbestos tile found under it all.
No
boxes unpacked. No table and chairs arranged. No fruit
placed in bowls. Nothing will make us change. The house is
as
we were, when we walked through. My hand clasped
around the realtor’s flyer. Needs TLC. All offers considered.
from Sprung (San Francisco Bay Press, 2012)
© Copyright, 2013,
Laura
Madeline Wiseman. |