Ruth Holzer
This Old House
Who owned this house back when I was bicycling around the olive groves and temples of Sicily? When I was dozing in the library of the Classical Institute, who was raising a family here? People of limited means and expectations, I imagine, given the modest dimensions of the place: two bedrooms, one bath, a narrow kitchen fitted out with pressboard and formica. No garage or air conditioning. A good-sized yard with mature cedars and pines. My house for decades—and someone else’s in the time to come, but they’ll know as little of me as I do of the previous occupants when I’m finally carried out of here, assuming they don’t just tear the whole thing down.
in the bed of marigolds common burdock
About the Author
Ruth Holzer‘s short-form poems have appeared in Atlas Poetica, cho, frogpond, Modern Haiku, Presence, red lights, Ribbons, and many anthologies. She has served as a co-editor of Haibun Today and assistant editor of tinywords. She has published five chapbooks of free verse and ghazals. Her first haibun collection, Home and Away, was published in 2021 by dancing girl press.