Worth Fighting For

Soon the sun will glow Through the east facing blinds I haven't worked in seven months Yet I rise every day before him And write a poem or two The ceiling fan wobbles Finches, sparrows and a cooing dove Greet the dawn Sweet morning music Best time for me Should be waking up in cooler climes Shoulda been coulda been woulda been Gone by now But for this old house Drug from an extinct mining camp Off the top of a mountain One that got scraped away And dumped across the highway Miner's shack really Bought it for about One year's teaching salary In 1995 Kept all its 100 year old doors Crystal doorknobs and skeleton key locks Stripped away the lath and plaster Took out some walls, moved another Replummed, rewired Refinished wood floors Put down some maple Added on some rooms Guarded it all with white pickets Place has it's charm Why I fought to keep it Quit my job in Vegas Well--retired altogether So I could stay here I don't know Funny like that Usually don't care Pretty good at it But this old house in this old town I care Although right now I wish I were Living in my rv somewhere north Grand Tetons,Yellowstone, Glacier Somewhere cold Got my eldest daughter in Montana But I'm here near my youngest And her baby Son just got back from Kuwait He and my favorite daughter in law Coming to visit from NY Wants her dad here for barbeque Wednesday Golfing, then dinner out and a pub crawl Thursday She's good to my son--good to everyone really She gets what she wants I'll put a shine on the place Marinate a prime rib for the big easy Buy her tequila, his whiskey, some beer And get a tee time I'm happy I could be snuggled up in the cold On a pine scented morning Be fishing before the sun hit the water But no one would come see me Guess I'd fight again For this old house Sun's beating the blinds It's garbage day Gotta drag out the bin Two whole bags Higher trash fee now than When the house was full (Sigh)