House Poem by Josephine Collett

The house
was built on solid foundations
Not long before the termites undermined
her happiness
Her childhood home visited
by deceit
She grew as a tree against the wind
Sheltering
Harbouring her thoughts
And she rebuilt the house, stone upon stone
A fortress
With the desperate room
Boarded, barred, unvisited

Her open doors an invitation
To a party
Come see my rooms, how beautiful
How cold the stones beneath the patterned carpet

But the tree ripened and bore fruit
Turned its withered limbs toward the son
Its roots drawing from unseen waterways
The seasons turned
And it was time to spring clean

A breath of air in the windows. She began
To allow the light to the barred room
Sonlight softening the shadows
of memory
And the room was swept clean

Time for restoration
and refurbishment
To throw away the locks and close the door
The house a home
And the tree green