The old and the new

Tomorrow the appliances arrive.  The next step.  The painting is now complete.  The new puts the old into sharp relief.  The old has served us well.  We have had our current refrigerator for fifteen years.  It was here when we bought the house.  To be sure... its water stopped running, and we couldn*t replace the light in the refrigeration compartment.  But it continues to do its job, even in the dark.

The fresh paint smell

Permeates the house.

Of course now we notice

The fifteen years of paint

Declaring its age

On the other walls.

This is how it always is

When new

Confronts the old.

We stand back,

Let each declare

Its superiority.

Tomorrow 

The new refrigerator will arrive

While the old one looks on

From the living room,

Jealous of the stainless sleekness

The light that actually works

The water that cubes and shaves and flows

The efficiency rating:

A nine out of ten

Of available refrigerators.

The old one

Has served us

An amazing fifteen years.

We purchased the warranty

On the new one.

We have been warned.

Oh yes

We have been warned.