The Porch Poem by Daniel Brick
The Porch
We have neglected the porch
for years. The railings became loose,
and Uncle Samuel ripped them off
rather than risk an accident. There is
always this fear in Uncle Samuel: he chose
certainty of destruction over preservation.
Then the steps gave way, broken,
in disarray, they expected no mercy
after Uncle Samuel's fury. But instead
my cousin Jimmy and I rebuilt them
one July day of blazing heat. For six hours
we labored, then we rested under moon glow.
The roof still shaded a row of five pots,
gifts from two aunts, Alicia and Gloria,
both teachers, who found them in county fairs
they browsed in their summer vacations. They were
pretty things once, but now cracked and discolored,
their dry soil held only dead flowers, brittle, wasted.
The flower pots were the most neglected things
on the porch, because they were once living things,
housing thriving flowers, whose colors and scents
fulfilled the purpose of the porch to be the threshold
into the life of a family. Indifference doomed the porch.
I live among fragments, myself a fragment of a lost family.
Indifference and negligence can doom our life too. A great write that shows that good lessons can be learnt from things around us. The sight of a doomed porch tells us a lot about the failings in us. To build a strong bonding, a family must take care of each other's needs and psychological demands. A profound piece with layers of meanings. A 10.
I live among fragments, myself a fragment of a lost family. - - -The best closing line to a poem ever penned by a mortal hand. Only an angel could have given it challenge. Dad gum it. I've got tears in my eyes, Daniel, and I hold your beautiful writing to blame. I have a soft spot for this kind of poem that writes a spell about the past and family and their enduring place in our hearts. The flower pots were the most neglected things on the porch, because they were once living things, housing thriving flowers, whose colors and scents fulfilled the purpose of the porch to be the threshold into the life of a family. Indifference doomed the porch.- - - - - - - - - - - - - - Indifference doomed the porch. I wish whatever angel dwells in your poetic heart would come and visit me sometime and gift me a line as perfect as stunning as heartbreaking as this. A million 10's for this and a place on my favorites!
Family as porch...family as poetry...family as flowers in pots...family as memories to be cherished. What a lovely poem Daniel. Part narrative, part metaphor and lots of heart.
Hi Pam You saw right away the subject of this poem is family. It unfolded for me gradually as the essential poem underwent three revisions. The idea came from a comment by Susan Williams: the dead flowers on a dilapidated porch needed a poem. So many things, suffering and rejoicing, need a poem. Let's get started, as Rilke put it, EVER BEGIN THE PRAISE YOU CANNOT COMPLETE.
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
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5/14/2024 4:53:52 AM # 1.0.0.1119
Neglect, indifference, fragments of what was or what could be with our choices with things or people. A lovely poem Daniel