We craved for other cars,
for raises, clicks and likes,
we built another fence
despite the fact
that grass was always greener
on our neighbor’s side.
Side-by-side in boxes
we pretended walls
were made to last.
But bricks may crumble,
grass turn yellow
walls can tumble;
That’s when, one night
we sat there eating Jello
for desert, we picked at scabs
and nitpicked past mistakes.
That’s when we learned:
the neighbor’s son had overdosed,
his wife had left, his car was broken.
And yet we glared
across the fence
ans asked ourselves
“why is his lawn
still beautiful and green?”
I guess I went for the most obvious in the picture and only saw that the grass is greener on the other side. I don’t know if this is a real story, but more of a narrative poem describing the green-eyed monster of suburbia…
Friday Fictioneers is a community of bloggers who write every week to the same picture selected by Rochelle who always have a wonderful contribution every week. I will go on vacation the next two weeks but I will be back soon enough.
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August 8, 2018
Björn Rudbergs writings 
….and we never know just what is really happening in other people’s lives…..
Sounds like a modern day neighbourhood in several countries. Nicely written.
That was thought provoking and vividly described. I loved it.
Susan A Eames at
Travel, Fiction and Photos
I love the detail about the Jello for some reason.
There is always someone worse off, yet we do often try to forget that. Your story brought that home.
Indeed we often compare. Human nature, perhaps.
So much misplaced longing for all the stuff we mistakenly believe is better than ours.
This is a beautiful piece. You capture the misguided longings imposed by society so well.
Your poem describes a rather dystopian suburbia very well. These certainly are aspects of human behaviour. But the other side of the coin is that neighbours are often friendly and ready to help, and ready to rejoice in the good fortune of others
This is so good, Bjorn. We never know what goes on in other peoples’ lives. Well done.
This reminds me of another of this week’s posts, which highlights the problem of perspective. No one ever recognizes the hardships someone else may be suffering with.
I so loved this too, Björn. We waste our time wishing for or envying what others seem to have, blather on about the little stuff we “know” or have gossiped about, about yet, don’t take the time to really meet each other.
The grass may be greener on the other side but one never know the secrets that lurk behind their doors. A well-written insightful piece, Bjorn.
I like where you took the prompt. It’s perfect.
Isadora 😎
Dear Björn,
Your use of the prompt is anything but obvious. We never know what battles people are fighting on the other side of those fences, do we? Beautifully written and thought provoking.
Shalom,
Rochelle
We don’t have many fences in our neighborhood. Only the guy at the end of the road, who has horses, has built a good strong fence. It’s good to have good neighbors without having to build fences, but it works only if the neighbors live by the same laws we do. Anyway, well done, Bjorn. Got me thinking a bit, but it’s late, and I’m going to bed now 🙂
Wow.
Really nailed that one.
Sums up in such a great way the state of society on some level, past and present.
Delightfully different and all the better for it!
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I think it’s an accurate take on many suburb dwellers. Their houses are twenty feet apart but they refuse to get to know each other – and some (as in this poem) covet the material belongings of their neighbor. What a sad existence.
Green-eyed monster of suburbia–apt in so many ways. I really like this poem, quite a punch. Their suburban jealosy seems quite incurable, despite the fact that the Joneses’s “lot” isn’t enviable, after all.
Awesome message.
A thought provoking piece, yes thought provoking, well done
So well-written and an interesting angle on the image. I suppose shallow thoughts can invade, even in the most awful situations.
Wonderful! You have combined the modern life in a thoughtful and reflective poem. Nice one.
A beautifully written piece and very thought-provoking. We all do this, don’t we? Envy “our neighbor” for how much better their life appears than does ours. We usually know very little what their life is like. We all struggle.
So sad. Too many of us worry about the appearances over substance.
That really is a green-eyed neighbour. I like the way you segmented this to pack in the history, their thwarted desires, and almost that they want their poor neighbour to suffer even more. It’s almost as if his misfortune is a consequence of using a sprinkler on his lawn.
Great poem about the grass is always greener… It seems a universal affliction to always envy others.
Well-captured.
The grass always appears greener on the other side but most times, that’s not the case. It’s interesting that in spite of their neighbor’s misfortunes, they still envied him. A wonderfully written piece about how envy can blind us.