orangeville

i grew up on 54 pheasant court.

the house was brand new when we moved there
(which i don't remember),

so when my dad moved to an older townhouse after the divorce,
i didn't understand why you had to put the protective stickies
down in the cabinets.

we had a beehive in the backyard
that my dad refused to deal with because it would have meant
tearing up a part of the deck he spent all summer building one year.
my brother got stung the spring before we left.

coyotes stole my neighbor's cat
and all the kids walked in circles one night
in the field beside her house
and we sang.

most nights,
i could hear the train pass by,
but i only ever saw the tracks.

seeing is believing,
but i don't believe a thing.