fine (fee-nay) noun: the place where a piece of music finishes;
“the end” in Italian

•••

The house is really theirs now,
the sign with our name replaced
by a new one with theirs,

which is as it should be,
as my sister and I want it to be.
We no longer have keys

to the house where we
grew up, where our
mother died, and that’s

as we want it to be,
passing this place on to
our beloved next generation.

But oh, seeing the sign
with their name backlit
by summer light

near sunset zings
the strings of my old
heart, tenderizes me

in places I hadn’t
expected. It’s fine,
more than fine,

this place of finishing,
this place of beginning.
These are happy tears,

I swear.