Small homes with over sized tv sets
that blare through front windows
From slanted porches life flows onto the narrow street
Bicycles, toys, planters burst with bright blooms
Air conditioners drip onto gravel driveways
One is nearly clipped by a “work truck”
that carries a ladder and tool boxes stacked high
Dogs and cats bark and scramble
After a dare and a double dare concludes
The cats prevail, always
No one has pedigree here
Some urge others toward keeping things nice
They mow little lawns and sweep the dirt hard
From cracked sidewalks and stoops
Others, broken by love stolen
Or sickness, or a series of bumps
On the economic road
Resist
They sleep in the heat moving from couch to lawn chair
Outside to catch a smoke and wonder
Too exhausted to go any further than this
Their stuff is piled high all over
I can’t discern the trash from the treasure
Butterflies are everywhere today
Fluttering between flowers and fences
The clearing and re-cluttering
Of this old-time palette keeps me busy
As this community becomes my own