the box marked kitchen

she's moving.
her divorce is final
and now
she can leave
and start over
again.
but she needs to
stay in the school
district
for her two kids
who are still
in middle school,
the move will be
temporary, until
they finish.
so it's a three
floor walk up
for now. a place
that takes pets,
and where the hallway
smells like cabbage
cooking all day.
she has a view
of the front where
there is reserved
parking,
and a brown
dumpster where she
can deposit her
trash daily.
it's not the green
lawn that she
will miss,
or the pool, or
the garden and flowers
that she kneeled
to and raised
from seed.
it's more than that.
it's the years
of being young
and hopeful that weighs
on her now
as she climbs
the steps with
the first box marked
kitchen.