the orange shag rug

at the start

of the marriage,

the first house,

had

orange shag carpet,

wall to wall,

ala 1980,

and

blue vinyl siding.

there was

a squared mud yard

out back

where

the new dog

would go to do his

business and bark.

the front porch

had concrete

steps

with a loose

handrail that her mother

insisted we'd

be sued if we didn't

get it fixed.

the front

door was white, though,

with a pineapple

knocker, faux gold.

which gave us

hope.

eventually we changed

the carpet,

before it ended in

divorce.

it was

a low pile oatmeal color,

which said

everything.