3708 W. Janet

A white trailer with red accents
on a bit more than an acre of land,
with a rolling green lawn and trees
designed for little limbs to climb.

The backyard a childhood dream:

A pen full of goats waiting to be pestered
and the first puppy for four city kids now playing it up in the country
where hide and go seek is a worthwhile game
and dusk doesn’t end all fun anymore.
A garden full of kid tested, mother exhorted treats;
Watermelons with seeds aerodynamically perfected
for spitting at younger siblings.
Tomatoes waiting to cover spaghetti and
to be wiped from tiny faces by gentle hands.
A mulberry tree welcoming children up into its branches,
staining the climbers with purple pox on skin and clothes.
Rose bushes flaunting their blooms and
pricking tiny fingers, a warning to gain a wider berth.
Room for everyone now,
bunk beds that are more fun than function,
pinks and blues no longer clashing.
A white trailer with red accents,
not house but definitely a home.



-Stephanie Dalen