We both grew up surrounded
by woods and good sledding hills
but he lived at the top
of his hill in high modern style
and I lived at the bottom
of mine in a nouveau riche pile.
I lie. My house was more
of a neo-colonial, circa 1964.
I couldn’t help but feel
my background was crass:
not enough MoMA design store,
too much crewel and brass.
Now I pull away and think
how silly these matters
of taste when the whole planet
may soon be hot and in tatters.
May our home in the flood plain one day find buyers
and our grandkids find use for our Flexible Flyers.
—
Michele Herman’s novel, Save the Village, was a finalist for the Eric Hoffer Prize, and she’s published two chapbooks: Victory Boulevard and Just Another Jack. Her work has appeared in recent issues of Carve, Ploughshares, The Hudson Review, The Sun and LitHub. She’s a devoted teacher at The Writers Studio.
