What Those Closed Rooms Tell Poem by RIC BASTASA

past memories are strong pillars
they were different when we were there
we thought they were all wrong
we detest what they said and what they did to us
and we promise to take revenge

until they died and we are all left here to
feign for ourselves what is left
we manage to mend the broken stairs
we repaired the roof with leaks
the floors are changed and some windows
have to be closed

when everything is done we look at the
house again
from a distance from where we can see it whole
and we remember them, those we thought did not care
those we hate only to find out that they only want
us to build a much bigger house and much better
door, a stronger door, a happy window

memories are coming back
like old friends and we begin to understand the meaning
of those which we have misunderstood
and then we learn what love is
what ancestors are
what old houses mean
what stairs are for
what those closed rooms tell.