This old house haunts me

Each room is filled with memories

Snapshots of a well lived life

Pulling me back through foggy hills

And evergreen lanes

Every cobweb woven around my heart

Elicits a new daydream

Every creaky floor board has morphed into my bones

 

 

A reminder of how life used to be

When it was only them and us

Life spawned from you and me

When we were young

And they weren’t grown

And this old house

Was a happy home

 

 

Children sitting on the stairs

Trying to pretend they were not

Really there

Giggles before the walk of shame

Innocence apportioning the innocent

With blame

Never really

knowing how little

We cared

 

Times of joy

Littered with those sad moments

Where we met ourselves in sharp discord

But love was omnipresent

Respect and friendship kept us buoyed

 

 

Wise walls hold their secrets

Wonky doors blink cheekily

Guard their wounds

And surrender meekly

 

Music echoes through the dusty hall

While the wind that blows through every window

Wraps me in a nostalgic pillow

Lifts me up and takes me back

To the most precious moments

And washes me in a romantic glow

 

My youth has soaked into

The peeling paint

My hopes and dreams echo loudly

In each well worn room

Finally the sun has set

We stand strong

Under the bright new moon

 

As I wander from room

To room

This old house

Refuses to allow me

To forget

Happy times

And nursery rhymes

Smother any meaningless

Regrets

 

As we close the door

For one last time

My mind knows

Home is where the heart is

But I can’t help feeling

This old house

Will always own

My soul.

 

C.K.22