White Walls

With determination
she turned the page
started over
with a new address
an escape from
the painful pattern
a search for peace
without complexity.

How fitting—
new construction
with bare white walls
new shrubbery in place
by the front door
promising to grow
with direct sunlight.

Nearby—
he too settled
feeling uncertain
in his white space
with an echo
as the front door shut
without anyone else
coming home.

Perhaps the gods
placed them close enough
for a chance meeting
knowing until
that magical day
they each needed
a measure of time
without stripes
without colors
without questions.

*

Lois Perch Villemaire, originally from the Philadelphia area, is a longtime resident of Annapolis, MD where she is inspired by the charm of a colonial town and the glorious Chesapeake Bay. After retirement from a career in local government, she concentrated on her love of writing. Dabbling in family research has inspired poetry, memoir, and creative nonfiction. Her work has appeared in a number of journals such as Ekphrastic Review, Flora Fiction, and One Art: A Journal of Poetry, and has been included in several anthologies. Lois was a finalist in the 2021 Prime Number Magazine Award for Poetry. She enjoys yoga practice, amateur photography, and raising African violets.