Letters from Across the Street

We get letters from across the street
That tell us of a wondrous land
Where rent gets paid
On time

And girls dance around
To Motown music

And fresh pasta is made
And consumed
In large colorful bowls
While golden light
Graces dining areas

We get letters about love making
That happens on beds
With plump comforters
And newly washed blankets

About mood music played
While massages are given
And mistakes are forgiven
And the given circumstances
Are oh so much better
Than ours

We get letters about friendships
That revolve around intellectual discussion
Rather than video games
And pot smoking
And chain smoking
And borrowed cigarettes
Overflowing ceramic ashtrays
From yard sales
We go to on weekends

And late night fucking
Other people's girlfriends
While they're busting their ass
At a club downtown

We get letters stuffed in pails
Brought over by clotheslines
That connect us to our happy neighbors
Across the city street that hosts
Both noisy bars
And vegan restaurants

The bars are ours
And the vegans are theirs
And we share only a clothesline
And a pail
Into which we put
Our hopes and dreams

We seem to be okay where we are
But we can't help but see
The greener grass
Growing on another fire escape
And the lovely nape
Of our neighbor's girlfriend's neck
As she lets down her hair
After a long, long day

We pray to one day
Be the people across the street

But until then
We simply read
Their letters