Julia Stein

 

 

Julia Stein  is co-author of Shooting Women: Behind the Camera, Around the World.

She has published five books of poetry, the most recent is What Were They Like? And she has

edited an anthology of Triangle Fire poetry:  Walking through a River of Fire.

Fixing An Old House by Julia Stein

 

I walk through the empty rooms of my family’s home

dingy off white walls haven’t been painted for a decade

remnants of my brother:  a hospital bed, his clothes,

he’s in a nursing home

remnants of my mother: her heavy brown wood bedroom set,

my mother in a board and care

 

I can’t bear the thought of removing 50 years of my family’s furniture and photos

can’t heal my mother

can’t heal my brother

hire painters who paint the living and dining room white walls, off white doors,

bring over my Don Quixote sculpture, drop it on the mantle,

I’m moving it

 

my first month no heat in February 55 degrees inside

in the hospital bed feels like sleeping on jello

February my brother moves to a nearby retirement home

water my mother’s green cacti and bougainvillea she loved

water the orange trees as my brother taught me

 

after an electrician discovers buried wall scones

to hold light bulbs

he hooks up four wall sconces in the living room

flooded with lights

the repairman fixes the gas heater room finally warm

 

December in the garden the tangerine tree heavy with tangerines

the midget orange tree studded with oranges

the towering lemon tree full of lemons some green some yellow

the herb garden covered with masses of rosemary sage mint

the bougainvillea studded with pink leaves

I’ve come home