moving in
moving out
moving in
staying

Noir moved in first. Never unpacked but liked
the left front window and did hang his favorite drapery-
black with ruffly edges. He didn’t like the view
or the house. Left after just one day.

Next came Rose. She unpacked.
Decided to live in the left front window.
Loving her name and the color she
hung a loose weave rosy curtain over the
eye to the outside that she controlled.

The house wobbled after she arrived.
Foundation didn’t feel as secure.
Some kind of inner hurricane occurred.
Knocked the furniture around the rooms.
Scrambled the floors.

Boxes leaped into walking paths.
Rugs wrinkled up just to snarl
the unwary owner who was both house
and original occupant.

I am the owner and the house.
Rose claimed my left front window.
My windows won’t work together now.
Rose’s side is fuzzy with her pink cloud.
The other window sees a clear world
but has no distance on its own.

I place my feet carefully.
Walking slowly in the shifting world,
I wait for my husband to say curb
then maybe higher or carpet
or stairs. I hate small squares
that pattern some floors.

But I do like Rose better than Noir.
Better the world through a rosy curtain
than peered at from behind a black cloud.

Janice DeRuiter 2014

*CRAO-Central Retinal Arterial Occlusion