I loved the sweet little beachfront condo
where relocated with spouse
to live when our oldest of
three had two children
then when her grown family moved
north from chill Redondo Beach
into Los Angeles hustle-bustle
we demurred though followed
however, still held onto the apartment
to escape for periods of R ‘n R
should such occasions arise
which didn’t happen much.
Now eventually essentially no one
else wanted to schlep southward
plus next-door friend/ neighbor
desperately seeks more room
so sadly, reluctantly, it’s determined
to peddle lovely unit for a hot market
fair value with proviso we can use
with at least three days’ notice
if otherwise not a problem/ vacant,
at least through the current fire season
and possibly given climate change
impact well into future years.
First trip planned since Corona lockdown,
tearfully contemplating the nostalgic process
of arduously clearing out belongings,
grandkids recalling good times…
Bottom line: after clan’s Zoom powwow,
consensus is to consider reneging on
the unsigned agreement, instead allow
cross-the-hall chums to avail
themselves of occupying condominium
gratis except for realistically rare
occurrences some or all of us
(nine grand/kids) were down.
But rubber hits road arriving for July 4
festivities to find complex in a tizzy,
elevator not working, scaffolding
everywhere for g-d knows the reason
obstructing views, rumors triggered
by the hellish collapse of Florida condo,
the aging place may be at risk, longterm
tsunami issues –- SELL FAST!
About the Poem
Merging Dade County condo collapse tragedy with climate change issues.
About the Author
Gerard Sarnat won San Francisco Poetry’s 2020 Contest, the Poetry in the Arts First Place Award plus the Dorfman Prize, and has been nominated for handfuls of 2021 and previous Pushcarts plus Best of the Net Awards. Gerry is widely published including in Tokyo Poetry Journal, Buddhist Poetry Review, Gargoyle, Main Street Rag, New Delta Review, Arkansas Review, Hamilton-Stone Review, Northampton Review, New Haven Poetry Institute, Texas Review, Vonnegut Journal, Brooklyn Review, San Francisco Magazine, Monterey Poetry Review, The Los Angeles Review, and The New York Times as well as by Harvard, Stanford, Dartmouth, Penn, Chicago and Columbia presses. He’s authored the collections Homeless Chronicles, Disputes, 17s, Melting the Ice King. Gerry is a physician who’s built and staffed clinics for the marginalized as well as a Stanford professor and healthcare CEO. Currently, he is devoting energy/ resources to deal with climate justice and serves on Climate Action Now’s board. Gerry’s been married since 1969 with three kids plus six grandsons and is looking forward to future granddaughters.