519 Lakeshore Dr.
2 bedroom, 1 bath, dining and living room,
kitchen and deck. I did a lot of work on that house:
took off wall paper with rabbits on it, painted
each room except the living room, it had paneling.
In the rain, I put up a fence for the dog.
I tore up, killed all the English ivy in the front yard,
it had climbed up the foundation wall, up the supports
for the porch. Laid down landscape fabric over
which I spread the leaves I got from the city
to use as mulch. I was going to make
a natural garden in the front yard.
Until Wendy died. I would look up at her house,
know that she would never be there to take care
of my dog when I was gone, help me choose,
plant native flowers, help me with the vegetable
garden. Coming home to 519 was never the same.
I left for a bigger house in the woods
with a stream running in the back.
Stripes Literary Magazine
2026
