The window is open,
the pillow is soft.
The ebb and flow of this neighborhood
are my alarm clock and my lullabye.
Soothed by the sounds
of the unremarkable,
lawn mowers and laughing,
garbage trucks,
the muffled overhead announcements
from the school across the road.
Saturday morning shouts
from the open field,
soccer and cricket won and lost.
Sirens,
as ambulances rush by
with their precious, endangered cargo.
The train whistles from the
center of town,
the sound of the gate
when the tenant next door
comes home at 2 a.m.
I know the voices and habits
Of these neighbours,
how they whistle for their dog,
what time they leave for work,
even the language they use
when they argue.
I’ve grown accustomed to the
rhythms and sounds,
so that something foreign and unexpected
would send me to the window
to determine friend or foe.
There is a predictability now,
that allows my heart and breath
to slow to the beat.
I claim my place
with my silent, unseen attendance.
In the fall of the night and
the rise of the morning
we share the unacknowledged intimacy
of shared space.
Four square blocks
of anonymous belonging.
Something to Shay 
“Four square blocks of anonymous belonging” = powerful. I’m feeling the undercurrent of loneliness in this last line, which appears to be set up from the beginning with the concept of ebb and flow, and reinforced with opposites throughout. Pretty dang masterful. Did you ever use the FourSquare app (?), or is this an unintentional play on social media culture that’s ridiculous aligned with your message? Craziness….. (BTW, I was a HUGE FourSquare addict for a while — as the former Mayor of many sites in Victoria. 100% anon belong)
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I have never used Foursquare. You are giving me credit for depth and a connection I didn’t make but see now that you mention it. lol This is why you are the professor and I am just Jenny from the block. Much love to you my friend. Thank you for reading and commenting. ❤
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This touched me. My neighbors just moved out on Saturday and we have lived beside each other for 14 years. The house sits empty now as we wait for our new new Neighbors to move in a few weeks. It feels lonely. We watched as our kids played and went through school together and although we were not besties we always watched over each other property like it was an extension of ours.
Now we wait and wonder who our new friends will be, how will we interact with each other? Will they like us?
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Awww I feel this MarciJo. The rhythm has been interrupted and it’s unsettling. We don’t realize how much those interactions become a part of our lives until something disrupts them. Good neighbours are hard to come by so I understand what you’re feeling and I love that you have already decided they will be your “new friends”. As for if they will like you….how could they not?!
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