painting Mimi's house

nearly every three years

or so

Mimi calls me from Florida

and asks if i can

paint the outside of her house again.

it doesn't need it,

but still she wants

a fresh coat of paint on the wood,

the doors,

the windows.

she's been in Miami for fifteen

years now

and hasn't seen the house since

then.

when i peer through the window

i can see that

nothing has changed on the inside

since the early seventies.

it's the same orange shag rug

throughout. the same

chandelier

in the dining room,

the same tables and chairs,

the console tv and stereo

in the family room.

the children on the walls are

still eleven, twelve, and fifteen.

they haven't aged

a bit in this musty mausoleum.

i paint the house

and send her a picture. nice

she says. very nice, the check

is in the mail.