always wanted a two-story house
see myself coming down the stairs, pardon, grand staircase
like some kind of old mgm movie black and white late late show
with whom? she said mockingly
don’t make no nevermind to me I snap back
I don’t wanna vacuum all those stairs she says with a glare
so we went with the tri-level ranch latest model straight out of ‘77
just need an old gold monte carlo with opera windows and vinyl roof
or a bronze oldsmobile toronado in the garage with rotting wood door
walking past elementary school alma mater didn’t drive yet that year
rusty backstop metal fence on baseball yellow diamond once played on
get slurpee cups with pictures of young ballplayers now old or dead
ugly green stripe wallpaper peeling off the walls
didn’t oscar say that either that wallpaper goes or I do
paint faded caulking cracked check for dry rot
new roof new a/c new carpet new paint all needed
old old old old old out with old in the new
the latest in avocado appliances in the kitchen--old school city
disappointingly no shag carpet or old disco records included
crawl around the crawlspace for a while
hope I don’t run across no bodies
don’t want no serial killer house
none found so we do the deal
maybe the bodies be buried in the back yard
