THE OTHER HALF НАРРУ OF BY REBECCA BALCARCEL chronicle books san francisco
TO MY FRIEND DARYL who has lighted my life since seventh grade 1969-2015
ONE I LIVE IN A TILTED HOUSE A bowling ball on our living room floor would roll past the couch past the dining table all the way to the kitchen sink And if the sink wasn't there and the wall wasn't there and the bathroom behind that wasn't there the ball would roll all the way to my room at the end of the house That's what it's like being twelve Everything rolling rolling toward you Quijana Mom's voice thuds against my door M'ija Dad calls It's not really our house We rent But even if the doors hang crooked and won't close and even if Mom never comes home till bedtime anymore and Dad looks tired when he cleans up after supper I like this tilted house I get my own room and there's a backyard swing There's even a stove with two ovens the upper one like a dresser drawer We can bake peach cobbler and cheesy nachos at the same time Like we might today if we weren't destroying the living room pulling everything off the walls
