catapult magazine

Upon What Soil

by Deborah Haak

One (foldable) chair to my name.
And a nightstand:
$10.00 from Goodwill.
The rest — dresser, shelves, bed —
on loan.

The day I own a mattress
will be a momentous one.
The day I claim a couch,
historic.

 

When that day comes, where will I be?
Upon what soil will I plant these possessions?
Where will they send their roots,
my roots,
into the ground?