You asked me about the neighbors.
They don’t say much.
They don’t mean much.
They lie with their backs pressed up against the bubble
In which we call home
We know so little about each other
Besides a name and a face
and the color of the outside of your house
We judge you by when you put your Christmas decorations up
and when you take them down
By the cars parked in your driveway
By the kind the of dog you own
and how often you are outside walking him
or by how many flowers you have in your front lawn

You asked me about the neighbors.
From my balcony
I can peak through the trees to the house of the older couple who
Obsessively water their lawn
How much water can you use?
Isn't your grass green enough?
And do you really have to mow the lawn at 7 Sunday morning?
And stop losing your cat
we are tired of hearing you call her name.

But on Monday evening
When the pile of textbooks on my desk is so heavy
if you threw it at someone it would **** them
And who knows when the studying will be over
Settle in
It should be a long night

The sound of the little girl’s laughter next door
Is like music that sinks deep into my soul
And brings a breath of relief
Your granddaughter is very beautiful
And I think she loves to sit in the
Green fresh cut grass with the cat
Time doesn’t stop for anybody.
I remember when that was me.

The people in the round house with the rickety steps
Are too loud.
Unstable young people who party too much.
The cars parked up and down the road are dotted with tickets
the next morning
The trash men have trouble with the bags of beer bottles
overflowing your garbage can
What a crazy night it must have been
and all over again next weekend.
You barely even made the rent this month
But everybody goes through a stage like that
And at least you ride your bike
And your big brown dog doesn’t chase our cats
Im betting in the next six months you should be out
And someone just like you will take your place

You asked me about the neighbors.
Across the street is the biggest house
They just bought an SUV
Its bulky and black and you cant see in the windows
so most of the time I don’t recognize them
That ****** ballerina of a daughter they have should get outside more
and her sister too
I think the fresh air would do them some good
We are surprised to see the maid’s car in their driveway today
Arn't they on vacation?
Whats the point?
We used to have that same maid.
But she only came once a week to our house
and twice to theirs
We decided we didn’t need her anymore
Because we can do our own cleaning.
When we were little I remember our lemonade stands
And pulling each other around in the wagon
the mudpies and the sandbox
gymnastics on the trampoline
They go to the private school and we go to the public.
We don’t talk much anymore.

The man and the woman with the golden retrievers are very kind
Although maybe they should think about a dog walker
Sometimes we worry Powder is going to pull his arm out of its socket
and Betty is going to yank her down
When we look in the window we can see her knitting
She always made me laugh when I saw her at the mailbox
He always gave good candy on Halloween and told us funny jokes
My brother and I are older now.
We don’t talk to them much.
All they really have to say when we see them is
“How you’ve grown up!”

You asked me about the neighbors.
They don’t say much.
Most of them have very green grass on their front lawn
And we don’t judge them for keeping their Christmas light up year round
Cause sometimes we do that too
There are no mean dogs
Come to think of it no mean people either
Sometimes they ask us to water their plants for a week
and usually they pay us well
Its really no trouble. Who doesn’t like flowers?
Your violets are my favorite
and your daises are very pretty too.
All we have in common is we live on the same street
And the same bear attacks our trashcans
And we all inhabit a place where sometimes the sunrise
is too beautiful to sleep through
And so we walk out on the driveway in our bare feet
Clutching our coffee cups
Grab the paper and stop and look around
And breathe the fresh morning air
And listen to the silence
And wave and smile and say good morning.
You asked me about the neighbors.
They don’t say much.

But I think they mean something.

There is a girl who I wish I was.
she has a vase of dying daisies next to her bed
and she has holes in the bottom of her boots
but imperfection is beauty
She has learned to live with what she has.
She has learned to forget what she doesn’t.

There is no such thing as negativity
or a word to speak bad about someone else
she has learned to accept.
she dreams through a field of flowers and blue sky
that goes on forever
and she understands the concept of time
present only lasts for so long
present will eventually fade into future
and past can be forgotten or remembered
Things heal.
Things get better.

She empties her pockets of change on the street
and never asks or expects anything back
because she knows how to care about others
more then herself
knows what struggle is
and she puts pity to a perspective
of making a difference

She sees herself as no better then anyone else
she measures giving and happiness
on a scale of equality
and she doesn’t keep track of how much help she has given
because she always has more to give
So there will never be a final total

She woke up late this morning
and she bashed her toe in the door
and she slipped on the sidewalk
and she forgot her books
and to eat breakfast
and everything has gone the wrong way.

But everybody struggles.
and complaints are meaningless words
to fill the space
they are ****** up by people
and build habits of unhappiness
in a place of unsatisfaction
things can always be worse.

She has learned to live with what she has.
She has learned to forget what she doesn’t.
She has learned to forgive and giveback.
Everyday there will be a sunrise
and a sunset
and the hours in-between
and after dark
will end.
They will not be wasted.

I am from pancakes, from ovaltine and cheerios
I am from an empty street that welcomes bare feet at twilight
I am from a big green back yard
from lilacs and daffodils
valentines and Easter eggs
from road trips in the van
And tuna sandwiches with extra mayonnaise

I am from being late to everything
And bedtime and naptime
From Bactine and band aids and bee stings and remember to wear shoes
when you ride your scooter
or walk over the pine needles
or under the slide where the grass is dry and sharp

I am from everyone is equal and religion is not a bad thing  
And no one is wrong to believe,
But you don’t have to.

I am from Cheese pizza and Chocolate Milk
From the dinner bell when dad gets home from work
Or the candy cookie at the end of the day
if you help mom with the groceries
I am from waffles and homemade peach ice cream on the forth of July

From water melon and doctor Suess on a picnic blanket
From Crayons and markers and coloring books
I am from stuffed animals covered in dust cause you left them outside
From ski school
From pink lemonade and M&Ms;
I am from no matter how cold that water is
I will swim in the rivers and oceans

I am from flying kites
From riding bikes to the end of the street
From sleeping outside on the deck
But not the whole night,
Cause you start to miss your bed.

I am from Halloween is scary sometimes-
And so is the queen in Snow White and Sleeping Beauty
And the witch in the Wizard of Oz
And the abominable snowman in Rudolph
From I think we will stick to the jungle Book and Lady and the *****



I am from snowmen and sledding hills and hot chocolate
with extra marsh mellows
From hanging Christmas lights in a snowstorm
And Dads sorry he let you jump off the deck
when you hit your nose to your knee-
He thought the snow was deep enough.

I am from Sprinklers and Trampolines
From Lodge Pole, Columbine, Bear Tree
From Ten minutes to bedtime
Junie B Jones Clifford the Big Red Dog and Bear in the Big Blue House


I am from Juice Coffee and Cinnamon toast
From broken heels and Sticky fingers
From counting stairs and sheep and pennies
and the days until Christmas
From the top of Dad shoulders at the tree lighting
From falling asleep with your head in Moms lap
in the booth at the restaurant.

I am from love
From hugs and kisses and holding on to one another so tight
Because what other way to show them you care.