Farmer's Porch Poem by David Welch

This farmer's porch wraps up the house,
pitching shade along all four sides,
with simple posts and long, flat spans,
and pressure-treated floor-boards, wide.

My wife may have gotten closets,
decorated the inside space,
but this long porch is my retreat,
I'm better in an outdoor place.

The north-face has a clear-cut slope,
an open spot amongst the trees,
the west-side features my kid's yard,
and often catches zephyr's breeze.

The south faces road and river,
a rock-chocked stream with flowing sound,
the east-side is close to tall trees,
an ideal place for cooling down.

On rainy days I sit out here,
enjoy the mists but don't get wet,
on sunny days I sit out here,
avoid the sunburns some folks get.

With hammock and chair here and there,
I can relax as things pass by,
have read Tolstoy out on this porch,
and westerns where the bullets fly.

It may seem quite bizarre to some,
to write of pleasures a porch brings,
but the more I sit out I see
that life is made by little things…