I Celebrate the Suburban Hobo

My kitchen counters do not gleam
Chrome and marble are not part of our home décor
I prefer the park to the mall
My skin is urban white to varying shades of red all summer long
My finger- and toe nails go unlacquered for months at a time
I do not blow dry or style my hair
My husband prefers reading to competitive home improvements
We are rebels, a new breed—
Suburban Hobos

We watch BBC
We signal when we change lanes
We do not decorate our lawn with giant snow globes at Christmas
We like geese
We got rid of our landline so the NJPD can no longer call
5 to 6 times a day harassing for donations
We used to give out of fear
Now we are free

We are not alone
The lady across the street
never manicured her lawn or cut her trees
She biked to Shoprite in flannel shirts
(no one in New Jersey wears flannel)
She had a collection of patio umbrellas and tables
in her backyard
one day her lawn was mowed,
the trees fortressing her home were cut,
the umbrellas disappeared
and so did she
Is this to be our fate?
They can’t get rid of us all
can they?