Little House on Reunion Road

The dirt swells up into a plume and flies past the frame
Of the half-built home across the street
Scouring the carpenters and laborers
Who have been pounding since five in the morning
Their faces covered with bandannas or masks
They resolutely continue to hammer

Construction debris and fast food wrappers
Collect in the backyard
Every few days someone shows up to take it all away
Every few days another house gets finished
Another neighbor travels deep into the desert
Miles from grocery stores and fast food
But freeway close to the two cities that divide my life
Tucson and Phoenix
An estranged couple
Grudgingly working their way together
For the sake of the commerce

When the wind shifts just right
You can smell the cows crapping
Stinking up the dairy farm down the road
We are under strict instructions to change the filters once a month
Otherwise the new air conditioner won’t last three years
Straining under the weight of the dust
That drifts down and around and through us
Leaving me with a wheeze that never quits
But is never quite bad enough to deserve attention

I have been planted in this middle class married
Double income no kids consumption driven world
I am surrounded by stuff
Too much stuff to keep track of
I need a home to house the stuff
I need a job to keep the home
I need a car to keep the job
I need loans to pay for it all

There are no street lights
At night the sky is full of stars
And it is so quiet my ears start to rumble
My wife and I can relax
Catch up
Connect
And I am not quite so worried about it all
It’s a good house
Comfortable
It’s a place to build a future
We can do that
As long as I can keep up

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