Old House Poem by Jim Yerman

When I see an old house on the side of the road…
abandoned and falling apart
I'm immediately struck by its mystery and beauty…
and then a sadness fills my heart.

What happened to the family who lived here?
Was their fate providential or vile?
I wonder how many people lived in this house…
Were they happy…at least for a while?

Was this to have been their dream home?
A spot where they decided to stay……
to build a life there together…
or merely a stop along the way.

Was it filled with love and laughter?
Was it a house where happiness flowed?
What could possibly have happened…
that she now stands abandoned by the side of the road?

Does this house understand her fate?
Does she realize how she's been spurned?
Or has she sat quietly, bravely and patiently all these years
waiting for her family's return?

Perhaps that's why we took this picture in black and white…
because deprived of color…devoid of all its hues
It shows the beauty this old house possesses…
but captures its sadness too.