Cake and Lemonade for Neighbors

Where I want to live

neighbors gather

on front porches, watch

their children play

across multiple front yards,

laugh

in Spanish, Arabic, Burmese,

English, talk

about back-in-the-day, share

sweet and savory snacks, lend

each other a cup of sugar or

flour, borrow

hedge trimmers, a shovel, or

rake, help

with chores when need be,

apologize

when need be, offer

a word of advice (not more),

drum,

strum guitars, and pluck banjos, make

a little noise sometimes, sometimes bring

out a kitchen chair so everyone

finds

a comfortable place to sit

on the unscreened

wide or narrow porch

or on the stoop. Sometimes

just enjoy all

black brown white

golden quiet together

— Margaret Rozga, from “Where I Want to Live: Poems for Fair and Affordable Housing” (Little Bird Press, 2018)