Susan Barry-Schulz
Ode to the Screened-in Back Porch
To the concrete slab and its coat of worn gray
paint, to the three flimsy walls of pocked screened-
windows and the hook & eye latch and the wobbly
ceiling fan and the string of last year’s left-over party
lights. To the off-kilter door that leads out to the compost
bin and the rusty gas grill. To the wasps and the moths
and the spiders and the spiderwebs that appear and reappear
in all four corners despite each week’s clean sweep.
To the flapping wings of the panicked house sparrow
who finds himself trapped at least once each summer.
To all of the accompanying hoopla. And to the bird’s nest
tucked safely in the rain gutter. To the nook where we keep
the spare key. To the mildew we scrub away each June.
To the sturdy picnic table left behind by the previous owners.
To the metal folding chairs someone hauls up from the basement
for cousins & company and the red & white checked tablecloths
we found at that tag sale for a steal. To board games and card games.
To Chutes & Ladders and Risk. To Uno and Poker and bottles
of beer. To the sound they make when they collide, both accidentally
and on purpose. To corn on the cob with butter and batches
of burgers and hot dogs turning on the grill. To the cooler of drinks
on the floor. To pickles. The good ones from the refrigerated section.
To paper plates. To nothing fancy. To the propane tank running out
in the middle of the party. To humidity. To melted candle wax
on homemade ice-cream birthday cakes. To fireflies. To the neighbor’s
tortoise-shell cat. To the clucking chickens and the humming lawn
mower and the evening’s sputtering sprinklers. To the whistle and bang
of random fireworks and the lingering odor and smoke. To the earnest
calls of Marco…..Polo echoing over the chain-link fence. To the simple
life that lies on the other side of the tricky Dutch door. Just one small
step away. From here.
Susan Barry-Schulz grew up just outside of Buffalo, NY. Her poetry has appeared in Rust & Moth, Dust Poetry Magazine, SoFloPoJo, B O D Y, SWWIM, Heron Tree, Shooter Literary Magazine, Bending Genres, Leon Literary Review, Okay Donkey, Quartet, West Trestle Review, The Westchester Review, Stone Canoe and in many other print and online journals and anthologies. Her work has been nominated for Best of Net and Pushcart Prizes.
