Boarded Up House
When we were through,
I was a boarded up house
Eaves weighted by debris
Shutters listing to the side
And water dripping in the hall
Ghost shapes of furniture
Sheet-draped and desolate
As dust motes danced in weak light
Filtering in through the cracked windows
The screen door striking the house
With loud cracks as the wind blew by
Swirling down the halls
Stirring up the dust
But one day, I woke up and saw
A clear space in a corner of the window
The one in the attic that I always liked
And I looked outside and saw wildflowers
Growing in a field nearby
I saw the wind move them in a dance
That was more like swaying in a dream
Than anything else in the world
And so I cleaned that one window
And went straight back to bed
And slept an entire day and the next
But then I got up and could see as far
As to the field across the way
The one with the lovely stream
With its happy trickling sound
I can hear it even from here
And so I swept all the floors
And dusted the shelves
Then I ate an apple I found on the table
And drank a full glass of milk
And went back to sleep
Then the next day I uncovered furniture
Pulling sheets off in a flurry
They flew through the air in celebration
Before drifting softly to the floor
I gathered them in my arms
Sneezing from all the dust
And I carried them to the laundry
And watched them come clean
In joyous circles of soap and water
Then I carried them, dripping,
Down the hall and flung open the door
Which fell off its hinges
But I didn’t care
Instead, I moved to the line
And set the sheets to sailing in the wind
Soaking in the sun that now danced
On the one clear window I could see
I went inside and ate until my stomach was full
And drank a full glass of water
And tucked myself into bed early
In clean sheets dried in the summer sun
The next day, I cleaned all the windows
They gleamed in the light of the sun
And I scrubbed floors until they sparkled
And fluffed the cushions on the couch
I painted walls and fixed doors
Removing broken glass and replacing windows
And for days, I cleaned out the gutters
And removed the boards to let in the sun
When cars drive by, they don’t hurry along
They slow down and wonder what it is
About this old house that positively gleams
Despite the age and the years of hardship
And how it stands alone in the field
I was a boarded up house when we were through
But I didn’t stay that way
Did you?
