From across the street, I stare at you
pacing up and down
the metal runway of the U-Haul,
a gang plank to nowhere.
You scurry,
traverse your bridge too far,
and lug the remains of your American dream,
crammed into corrugated prisons.
A modern day Joad,
shaking dust from your ARM’s,
and the whilrlwind of leverage you created.
Flipping mortgages was financial eggs over easy.
You had control of the spatula.
The yolks,
precariously balanced,
would never smash or run in your pan.
Zillow was a parlor game,
HGTV, a pastime for your evenings,
the price was always right,
and ever upward.
You tumbled your numbers again today.
Time to flee.
Your home,
worth less than what you paid for it,
now
a toxic asset.
The pool you installed on your third refi,
surrounded with crabgrass,
green with algae,
now
a breeding ground
for mosquitoes to nip us all.
In sunlight streaming through Andersens,
in air purified by Jenn,
under a Kohler tap,
you washed your hands of responsibility.
When I moved into my rental home
from across the street, you glared at me.
Your haughty face told me what you thought…
There goes the neighborhood.
Dennis Misurell teaches business and mathematics at Eastern Wyoming College.
8 Responses to “FLEEING UNDER COVER OF DAY • by Dennis Misurell”
Comments
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June 12th, 2009 at 5:47 am
An ugly state of affairs — sad and all too common. Your descriptions were vivid and well done — from start to finish, Dennis.
June 12th, 2009 at 6:46 am
Yes, agree with PSC. Well done.
June 12th, 2009 at 7:38 am
Well constructed poem of prejudice and presumption against an old neighbor leaving the neighborhood from a new one just moved in. Original and good.
June 12th, 2009 at 8:27 am
Very well done indeed. The last line is powerful.
June 12th, 2009 at 2:12 pm
Wow, masterfully done.
June 12th, 2009 at 5:33 pm
Loved that ending!
June 12th, 2009 at 9:21 pm
There’s a lot in this poem, would have given it a five except for the typo in the last line of stanza three. The emotions expressed here are so universaally true that I can relate to it from this side of the hemisphere!
June 13th, 2009 at 3:03 pm
Thank you all for your kind comments. This is the first time I’ve tried writing publicly and publishing at all. It encourages me to do more of it. I mean that very sincerely.