Tonight's Poet Corner: Wealthy Neighbors

Wealthy Neighbors
by Belinda Roddie

The silver fence between you
and me gets higher by the day,
yet its tempting gleam stops us
from breaking it down into shards
with hammers.

We use the slats between each
precious plank to pass notes,
birthday cards. I miss when the
fence was low enough for me
to offer you a cup of tea.

My husband, when we bought
this house, first wanted the fence
to be carved from gold. And
he wanted it fifty feet high so
we were surrounded by gilded
dreams to hide our guilty pleasures.

Now that spring is here and
the heat waves are impending, I
stay in the shade that the silver
provides. Yet the metal is hot,
so I cannot slide my fingers through
to touch your cooler skin on the
other side.