(poems From Haunted Houses) The House That Once Was A Home Poem by Janice Windle

(poems From Haunted Houses) The House That Once Was A Home

Rating: 5.0


ON THE STAIRS

Thare's a moment when,
hand on dark oak banister,
you look up.
A trick of light, a trembling
in the fabric of the time
that fills this house.

*****************************
BEDSITTER

Sometimes when you pause,
key poised, in the dark oak hall,
time shifts. A stillness, then
you throw open the door
on your familiar space.
The room is empty, of course.
The electric ring, the single bed,
wait innocently.
The muffled laughter, the sobs,
were not heard from here.

A restless presence slips past
from the empty room
into the empty hallway,
leaves it
empty.

*********************

I heard that Jane had bought
my childhood home. I was in Brunei.
I ought not to have been amazed when I heard
that a sudden blaze occurred,
in my old attic bedroom.

Perhaps my ghost came home that night.
I wasn't sorry - said it served her right.
(Jane and I
never did see eye to eye.)

*******************************

COFFEE BREAK

The bathroom door is stuck again.
Not locked - there is no lock.
just my mother's ghost, smoking
damp cigarettes, making the most
of a few hours' peaceful soaking
with a cooling coffee and a magazine.

*******************************

COMMENTS OF THE POEM
Susan Jarvis 25 June 2009

'...a trembling/in the fabric of time' - an admirable line. These adeptly woven images are truly affecting. The 'sudden blaze' reminds me of the first Mrs. Rochester, and I love the humour of 'Coffee Break' - a complete contrast to 'On the Stairs' and 'Bedsitter'. S :)

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