Melt Down, poem by Veronica Hosking (WHEN I MOVED Poetry and Prose Series)

It’s hard to believe the little girl napping in this photo has started her first semester at ASU.

phoenix1 Melt Down
by Veronica Hosking

So long Buffalo
Packed up our belongings
Left for warmer climate
Envious of sunny Arizona
Eighty degrees in February
Never looked back

IMAGE: Vintage postcard Phoenix, Arizona.

NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR: Back in November 1998, my husband had a splenectomy and we moved into my parents’ house while he was on disability. In February of ’99, Shawn moved across country to Phoenix, Arizona. Rachael and I followed at the end of June. As I write this poem 17 years later, Arizona is under an excessive heat wave. On Father’s Day we hit 118 and lost our AC for a couple hours. Still better than being buried under seven feet of snow.

hosking2 AUTHOR’S PHOTO CAPTION: Rachael napping on the patio of our apartment in Phoenix surrounded by the boxes we will pack up to move into our house.