How did I get here?

 I used to drive through

this section of town

past the tired houses

covered with grime

a spot of grass

between each home

porches rarely used

as the coal trucks

rumble by

I wondered:

Who would live here?

I grew up

on the other side of the tracks

in a Victorian Lady

with a huge side porch

where my friends and I

would sit

as the boys

drove by

So how did I end up here?

 The old brick ice house crumbling before my eyes

The rental house with bright blue window frames
where the couple ignite the summer air

with a blaze of cuss words

The rusted trucks for sale

 The dump truck full of debris 

 The construction company

whose owner began a spruce up

of his buildings

'til town government got technical

 he shrugged

and left them as is

How did I get here?

I got here because:

I needed a safe place

 in town

where if I screamed

someone would hear

where if my electricity stopped

or the pipes overflowed

someone would come and help

no matter the hour

I needed a place

where my dad could rest

knowing I wasn't out in the woods

at the lake

alone

I screamed one night while living there

scared the black snake in the shed

as much as he scared me

but then--

what bothered me most--

the nightly phone call with hubby

was done

no one would miss me for 10 hours

yet--no one heard me---

 scream

Here

on either side

I have caring neighbors

one couple rents

one owns

The one couple have worked hard

since high school

to build their auto body and auto upholstery business

in the back

across from the alley

I barely knew them in high school

this couple with the business

yet I graduated with him

When my basement flooded

they helped me dry the sepia photos

I'd brought here
after Dad died

He has fixed the furnace

the car

the pipes

she recovered my school desk chair

as a surprise

The other couple have a daughter
and two grandsons living with them
he's on disability
he babysits his grandsons
grocery shops and cooks

and  what does he do for me?
he mows my lawn
waters my flowers
and gives my cat his insulin shot
when I'm gone

The list is long
I could go on and on . . .
and on

But what's this really about?

It's not about which side of the tracks

It's not about the crumbling buildings

It's not about the noise or the dirt

It's about the two couples

who have become close friends

It's about a safe place for me

 while husband worked and lived
on the other side

of Ohio

It's about God's wisdom
and our trust in that wisdom

If I scream

the two couples WILL hear

and

 they WILL come to my aide

And as for the porch?
it has a swing on one side

where at night we don't swallow

the coal trucks' dirt

This is home

for now

"Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding."
Proverbs 3:5

Part of one shot poetry

and imperfect prose on thursdays