Hot Market

So, the real estate market is hot in the Lowcountry and

you decide to move there and

the realtor explains that if you build on the marsh

you can be assured that nothing will ever be

built in front of you, like a high-stakes

game of placing fist over fist on a bat handle.

But don't misunderstand, it's about the view, too:

marsh grass is like an impressionist painting,

a green blur,

and the water beyond is the murky promise of freedom;

a thousand kayak trips or power-boat excursions

where, tipsy, the wives decide to go topless.

But like a painting, the view blends

with the decor and goes away,

you realize you've never assembled your kayak kit,

it's hot on the deck where your

New York Times is limp with humidity,

and the mosquitoes are terrible.