Her Name Was Vernay

I was inspired to write this for my first tenant I had after I inherited an initial tenant who wasn't so kind. Ever since her, I haven't been able to find anyone who matched the level of mutual respect. Keep your awesome renters, and friends, near and dear.

Her name was Vernay
I can recall to this day
No words here I could say
No matter, no matter – come what may 
In a world not always so kind
Where a favorite word is “mine”
Where the blind lead the blind
And where trust is so hard to find
It was with her, it could begin
No leverage, no games, no spin
It can all be … simply … effortlessly … win-win
From the very start until the farewell end
I can recall to this day
Her name was Vernay
 
Now the first renters of mine
They would play games of the mind
And later swiftly leave me behind 
Trying their best to place me into a bind 
“Hey – you’re supposed to offer us cable”
But that was never on the table
They came up with various sorts of fables 
Pushing me to do whatever I was able
They opposed this new landlord without a care 
Huh - I just wanted to move forward … honest and fair 
An adjacent home, with separate entrances we could share
Yet they mainly only offered a trickster’s dare 
 
Then came my first chance to choose my own
A sweet woman who would be living alone
I’d make sure to cut the grass that so high had grown
We clicked as if our personalities had already been known  
For each other, we both did whatever we could do 
Her mother visited, and it was like my relative too
She offered to take in my trash bins – the green, gray and blue
Needs were never bothersome, opportunities were always new
This woman was not just a tenant, or a source of some cash
Nor some supplemental income I could come across fast 
But rather a pleasant cohort willing to take off the mask 
In a friendship, with mutual respect, that would surely last 
 
I see her on social media – we’re still so kind to one another
On some level it’s like we were sister and brother
Never trying to trick, manipulate or outdo each other
A sort of connection that could always offer cover
In a world where selfish needs lead the isolated along 
In a society where few community members belong 
In a life where relationships are less right than wrong
On a globe where the humble are not considered the strong 
In a world filled with numero unos trying to get their way
Guarding their empires, keeping everyone else at bay 
Scared, hidden, bitter, divided, betrayed 
I can recall another sort of relationship still alive today 
Within the glory of the life, the truth and the way 
Even in spirit, even in distant memories, we will stay
I can recall to this day
Her name is Vernay
Her name is Vernay