It was an old three-story brick house
in one of America’s dying towns,
but we could afford the apartment
on the second floor.
And though it was a disaster:
the plastic Woolworth’s dish drain
melted onto one of the electric stove’s
burners, the bed’s one foot propped up
on the Bible, the fish tank with its three
inches of green water and window drapery
lying inside, drowned in algae and neglect,
and though we had to scrape and toss the
water-stained wallpaper, refresh and repaint
the entire place, to me it was the best—
with the stained-glass window that turned the
living room gold in the afternoon with its sliding
wooden doors that divided the living space into
two separate rooms.
And though the roaches finally forced us to move,
I still remember those nights, in the living room,
sitting together
on the sofa of the first living room set
we bought as young bride and groom,
so happy to be together, on our own,
living proof that dreams really do come true.
_________
P.C. Scheponik is a lifelong poet who lives by the sea with his wife, Shirley, and their shizon, Bella. His writing celebrates nature, the human condition, and the metaphysical mysteries of life. He has published six collections of poems: Psalms to Padre Pio (National Centre for Padre Pio, INC), A Storm by Any Other Name and Songs the Sea has Sung in Me (PS Books, a division of Philadelphia Stories), and And the Sun Still Dared to Shine (Mazo Publishers), Stained-Glass Faith (Alien Buddha Press) and Seeing, Believing, and Other Things (Adelaide Books). His work has also appeared in numerous literary journals. He is a 2019 Pushcart Prize nominee.
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