The last bedroom down the hall
has a second door
for going out back,
which wasn’t so much a factor
in choosing this harbor cottage,
as a convenience
that came with the place,
like the half-wild cat.
*
We began moving in after
forking over the cashier’s check
at our closing date.
Before John & I could transport
up the laundry appliances,
Chris baited to death
a large rat finding entry nightly
through a hole in hall floor
meant to receive dryer exhaust tube.
A week of thorough vacuuming,
followed by carpet shampooing
into the weekend, ensued,
and on to window cleaning.
… Replaced the stove that winter.
*
Bedroom 1’s second door leads
to a bathroom, as does bedroom 2’s;
although 2’s is kept closed,
with a rolled-up bath mat shoved
underneath to block the draft,
because that bedroom
is seldom heated.
The upstairs garret is one long room,
… three windows and a second door
to a rough, storage attic.
The door at bottom of stairs
keeps out first-floor noise,
kitchen odors, and cats.
*
Only after several years
of cottage living
did I wake up one morning,
recollecting that
when we visited my grandparents’
Georgian Bay cottage in summer
whilst the blueberries were ripe,
I’d hear my Grand-dad
going out his bedroom’s back door
22 in hand,
before dawn brightened,
to scare the pesky goundhog
near his garden plot.
Before recalling Grand-dad’s room,
I’d thought
our last bedroom’s outside door
unique in my experience.
Guess not,
whether fate or coincidence,
it’s a tie to the past we’ve bought.
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