The Ninth Month

--By Carol Lynn Pearson

Being a duplex
I have been happy, my dear,
To loan you half the house
Rent-free and furnished
As best I could.

You have been a goodTenant,
all in all
Quiet, yet comfortably there
Tapping friendly on the wall.
. . .

But we will keep in touch.
There are bonds, my dear,
That reach beyond a block
Or a mile or a hemisphere
Born of much love and labor.

I approve the move
And gladly turn from landlady
To neighbor.