Diana Darby ** "I V" ** Intravenous

Too Old For Comfort

The couple that came to look at the house today
were too old to live here.
I could see that after a few seconds of meeting them.
Why their broker brought them here is a mystery.
The old man could never make it down the hill
with the trash can
and neither would be able to navigate the curve
of the driveway.
Didn’t they know my house was on a hill?
And over an acre?
I can just imagine what they must have thought
when they saw all that grass to cut.
He must have just scratched his head,
pulled his hat down lower
and shook his head, ‘no’.
And she must have looked out the windows
to the mailbox at the foot of the drive
and feared she would never be able to get her Social Security check again
without bypass surgery.
Still,
she told me how much she liked the house and
for a few brief hours I thought maybe there was hope.
Maybe the original tile bathrooms appealed to their nostalgia
or maybe the wood paneled den gave him visions of Sunday mornings
reading the paper by the fire with his slippers and pipe.
But it wasn’t to be.
The agent sent the feedback sheet saying they, “weren’t interested.”
So for now,
it is back to reality.
My perfectly clean home must wait,
along with my desires.