The Dr. Seuss House
by Jerry Hamby
Our first year of marriage we lived
We called it the Dr. Seuss House for the mimosa tree
In autumn we used up a box of matches
In winter the pipes froze and the cold seeped
In spring we danced around the living room
One night, on a dare, we ran naked through the yard,
in a white stucco house, four cramped rooms
connected by a three-foot hallway.
out front, its pink blooms sailing on a puff
of summer air, and for the slanting floors
that made our furniture lean this way and that.
trying to start the furnace, the pilot light was three feet below
the floor, but when the burners finally rumbled
to life, dusty heat filled the house.
through thin, drafty walls, but we huddled
in the hallway, snow melting off our boots,
sizzling on the furnace grate.
while the swamp cooler churned, its sisal-sweet smell
filling the air, the music barely audible.
played tag around the mimosa tree,
giggling in the moonlight.
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