Gentrification

Cherry red exterior paint

slapped over a flaking mint.

“Two thousand dollars” they now say- that's only for the cost of rent.

Up-cycled tires are holding overgrown flowers, hinting at better times.

Homes of my past, how I yearn for your comfort

If even in my dreams at last.

...

This is in reference to a dream I recently had of a rental home I lived in for several years at $900/ per month. I was a single mom to a toddler and barely making ends meet. Now that home goes for double the rent and is one small example of the housing crises and wage gap in (Olympia Wa) America.