NEIGHBORHOODS
The places we
lived when we were thirty,
Streets of
friends on the way up,
Fairfax County, Jefferson Parish,
Super Bowl
parties, seven-layer dip,
Dads walking in
the street
Halloween night,
beer in hand,
While kids rang
doorbells.
And yet that
time, that chemistry
Proved
delicate,
Could not
withstand divorce,
Transfer to
Armonk, New York.
So now, as the
eighth decade rolls on,
New bonds and
chemistries at Golden Pines,
Fast friendships
formed, short-term investment,
Monthly
breakfasts,
Names of
grandchildren learned,
Symphonies and
speakers heard, small trees
Cared for in
young yards—Golden Pines
A posting not
subject to transfer:
Shifts in
population accepted
With a certain
wistful equanimity,
Budgets for
memorial gifts,
Extra coffee
cakes in the freezer,
Against the
inexorable day when
No one on our
street
Remembers when
it was new.
("Neighborhoods" appeared in Pyrokinection, July
2013)
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