20160703 (brown)

Not a picture of nearby Fairview Park but could be

My west neighbor is also selling

His house. Unlike mine,which 

Has suffered from an earlier

Iteration with asbestos siding,

Several instances of water 

Damage, and more than one

Shoddy interior reworking,

His is flawless: updated kitchen,

Landscaped with a water

Feature in the rear of the

Property, an easily accessible

Two car garage (plus space

For their Harleys), excellent

Security, air-conditioning

Throughout, and a sinful

Attic bedroom that peers

Through a clear glass partition

Into the adjacent shower (for

Those of us who like our

Luxury with just a touch of

Kink). Unfortunately his house

Is next to mine, which is soon

To be turned over to restorers

Who will reduce the exterior

Disparity with repairs and 

Era-appropriate paint. There’s

Quite a difference in price,

However as you’d expect

Between a raw diamond and

A polished one. They were 

Out recently tidying up the

Gardens, weeding the walk.

And a lot of watering the lawn.

Now as anyone with their 

Eyes open can plainly see

A good share of the near west

Side is floating on sand—

Buckets and buckets of it.

The excavators for the 

Apartments to be built

Between Clinton and Vine

Court have sunk girders into 

Twenty-five of sand and not 

Hit rock. You can watch them

Struggle to firm up the base

In the western section while

The eastern section, still 

Undisturbed threatens to flow.

There’s an open section in

My basement where the original

Builders placed a coal bin of

Simply bricked-over sand.

Many cats over many years

Have done what cats do there.

The problem with sprinkling

Sand is osmosis. Water in one

Spot quickly migrates to drier

Areas. And everywhere this

Summer is drier area. His grass

Greens up briefly when watered

But soon relapses to this season’s

Universal brown. Ten years ago

When I first took up residence

Here, the grass was notably 

Greener. I remember mowing

The lawn weekly as a regular duty

From spring to fall. Except it 

Became less necessary as years

Advanced. This week, if I mowed

I'd be ripping it by the roots.

I wouldn’t be surprised

If rain stats bore me out--our

Little sacrifice to global warming

And climate change.

c. J.S.Manista, 2016