i remember how my grandmother's house smelled
when she
dusted her old
mahogany
furniture.
i wanted her to buy the danish modern
instead.
i wanted her to get rid of those God-awful
drapes
and open the place up
a bit.
she had a claw-footed tub before
claw-footed tubs were
cool,
and i wanted her to get rid of that,
too.
i said, "grandma, why do you have all these things
in here
that scare me?
your bathtub scares me
and your creaky stairs
scare me
and your dark, dark wood
scares me."
she said, "do i scare you,
nancy?" and i said,
"oh, no, grandma! you don't scare me!
i love you!"
and she said, "see?
i know how to decorate
after all."
