Shore House

In the beginning, there was time, and

a baseball hat,

fishing rods,

coke bottle lenses,

world war two clippings

a Nordic track in the basement, and

a shiny new Dell computer;

an oriental rug to play-wrestle on,

Sunday dinners, tossed salads,

London Broil,

spicy sausages cooking on the grill.

These are the things that make a house:

plank wood, a flat roof,

wraparound porch,

tall trees, grass that won’t grow,

boats at the pier,

a crippled Hobie cat in the backyard.

Then there were

trees that needed to be cut down,

slips that needed to be re-dredged,

pilings erected,

driveway paved,

fireplaces cleaned,

shed built,

a n d a p r e s s u r e c o o k e r.

The computer “broke” –

so did the Sunday dinners.

Does this cover it all?

(No.)

In the end, he stood

at the edge of the pier throwing

power tools

books

a rocking chair

her jewelry

clothes

a baseball hat

newspaper clippings

a n d a p r e s s u r e c o o k e r

into the bay.

It all had to go.