getting the pink slip

i get the pink

slip

for the house.

it's done.

all paid for.

the last coupon sent

in to

one of a dozen banks

that bought my loan

over and over

throughout the years.

i painted a lot of

houses

to get here.

wallpapered plenty

of walls.

i've fallen from great heights.

been bitten by dogs.

climbed forty foot ladders

onto rooftops,

shimmied through attics

and cellars

to get to a post, or board,

i've been shocked by

loose wires,

my hands cut from nails

or broken glass,

my head sliced open

by a falling brick,

gotten woozy from leaking gas.

i've met nice people, mean

people,

had a few flings with some.

made friends with quite a few.

i've worked

in the heat of summer

and in the dead

of winter,

sometimes with a cold or flu.

through marriages

and divorces.

deaths.

no questions asked.

okay.

now what?