Joanne Seltzer

Suburban Landscape

Entitlement

In the suburbs
we stake out our inch of land.
How foolish we are.

Being the Lord’s
the earth isn’t up for grabs:
deeds are mere paper.

We are squatters
in houses we think we own,
we are gypsies

who move in and out
so stealthily in the night
nobody knows

we set up shop here
until we are gone.

copyright 1985 by Joanne Seltzer
first published in Waterways,
reprinted in Suburban Landscape
all rights reserved

Selected Works

Poetry

Women Born During Tornadoes
A new collection of sixty poems on a variety of themes, published by Plain View Press.

Adirondack Lake Poems
Eighteen poems written at scenic alpine lakes, with black and white photographs by Alan Cederstrom.

Suburban Landscape
Twenty-seven poems of the difficult transition from housewife to feminist poet, suburban angst transformed into art.

Inside Invisible Walls
Twenty-four poems, from the Prohibition era to midcentury, set in old Detroit’s colorful Jewish ghetto.

Quick Links

E-mail the author

Authors Guild