The Foreclosure
The Foreclosure
By Elton Camp
It might seem unwise or funny
A house to buy without money.
My middle-income job isn’t stable
To save a reserve, I’ve been unable.
But such negative talk I truly hate.
It’s no valid reason I should wait.
Should I pay a landlord any rent,
When it means I lose all I’ve spent.
No dinky little house will do for me.
Must have bedrooms four, baths three.
Though it may be quite a long while
Before we have any plans for a child.
My fine big house must surely stand
In a prestigious area, new and grand.
And my place must have every feature
Though I am only a beginning teacher.
The bank’s loan officer, with a big smile
Welcomes us in the most friendly style.
Approving your home loan is great to me
Mainly because it means I get a bigger fee.
Now, sign your name here on this dotted line.
There’s no need to read it, trust me, it’s fine.
You are, for a thirty year mortgage, now all set
You surely didn’t notice the size of monthly debt.
You won’t be able to afford even a minor treat
Or to have much but cornbread and beans to eat.
On the first of the month, when mortgage is due
Then very little will be left of your check for you.
If you find the size of the payment hard to make
Don’t become concerned and think it’s a mistake.
House prices, for decades, always rapidly will rise.
If it becomes a burden, you can sell to other guys.
But only a few years after closing came trouble
It was the long-feared end of the housing bubble.
Not only did increases came to a grinding stop,
But selling price began to most drastically drop.
Disaster came to housing that shouldn’t oughter.
We came to find ourselves very deep under water.
Of buyers of our house at any price, there is a dearth
Because we owe thirty-thousand more than it’s worth.
Many months on the payment, we have got behind
The banker, once so cordial, now is far from kind.
You dishonest person, give us just what you owe
Or we will foreclosure and out the door you will go.
I never had considered the possibility that maybe
Sooner than we planned, wife would have a baby.
Surely even a banker can’t be such a mean old jerk
As to expect a woman in her condition to go to work.
The bank’s callous response does makes me furious
To foreclose on our house, they’re completely serious.
I learn from the banker’s message he put on the phone:
We’ve waited enough. In thirty days you’ll be gone.
Copyright © Elton Camp | Year Posted 2010
Post Comments
Poetrysoup is an environment of encouragement and growth so only provide specific positive comments that indicate what you appreciate about the poem. Negative comments will result your account being banned.
Please
Login
to post a comment