Only now
that I look out the window
and see no canal

with swans, paddlers
and people on the terrace
do I feel it is real

and I am not a guest
in this house with a staircase
and a strange toilet

Zoe thinks about friends
at the other school
after the holidays

Coco sets urine-marks around the garden
Slipsy is not allowed to go outside yet
and we see ourselves

in Nina - She is away more and more often
Out and about, on her way to see others
and briefly home in between

We toast to it
with old and new neighbours
We toast to our happiness