When we walked in to the empty House
it smiled at us
Not a jubilant smile…an easy one
A smile that came from within its walls
The House was built in 1936
It had lots of experience welcoming strangers
The House was very good at it
The wood floors felt solid beneath my feet
And why not?
It has withstood the test of time.
The pacing of a parent with a sick child....
The running feet of toddlers on Christmas Morning....
I looked out on to the front porch and saw through the eyes of the one who had lived there
A paper lying on the step?
"War Declared"
Did a man in uniform walk up those steps with his condolences ?
Sundays around the radio
FDR's Fireside Chats
The Jack Benny Show
George Burns and Gracie Allen
My hands move over the tiles in the kitchen
How many Christmas cookies were rolled out here?
How many pitchers of lemonade were stirred and brought
out to the back porch on a summer afternoon?
A little door in the wall….for the dairyman to leave the milk for the day
And then
I see the hands that wiped the counter one last time…
neatly fold the cloth…and walk out of the House
Carefully locking the door as she had for so many years,
knowing this time she would not come back
I too close and lock the door carefully
And wonder..... will I ever come back?
Perhaps. And if I do, will you come and roll out Christmas Cookies with me?
The House and I would like that.
And that's poetiquejustis
