While driving through farmlands, towns, and cities, one can’t help but notice the number of dilapidated houses that used to be homes at one time.
And every now and then a particular house may touch your heart and stay in your mind…
There is a house I pass each day when I am off to work.
Its’ paint has changed to brown and gray while holes show in it’s roof.
Some windows have been boarded up while others have been smashed
with rocks thrown by the careless hands of strangers in the past.
The porch rails wobble…steps are gone…and vines creep up the side
of what used to be an entry door into love and hope so fine!
At one time life and laughter reigned! At one time there were songs
to sing as there are songs today to sing and carry on!
At one time decorations would have been displayed with pride;
A christmas wreath…a witch’s broom…a flag on the Fourth Of July!
On summer nights, the folks would sit outside to laugh and talk,
and autumn leaves would smell so sweet when going for a walk!
The winter months would seem to last forever and a day,
and, oh, how joyous was the song a springtime robin made!
The sound of babies crying, and the laughter of the young…
the games they played, like “Hide and Seek”, were somehow even fun
to those inside who heard the calls which often would bring back
the mem’rys of more distant days when they, themselves, in fact
were children, too…and running round this big old house…this home.
So many things took place here! How to ride a bike alone…
or climb a tree…or run real fast!…or swim and splash in pools!
But children don’t stay children long. They grow…and then they move!
’til finally there’s noone left to keep the webs at bay.
Those loved ones who were once so near…now dead or moved away.
The only thing that’s left to show the love that used to be
inside this house is one brown bird who sits and sings for me
atop a branch of lilacs that continue forth in bloom
as though they hope if nice enough, the loved ones will come home.
Hi Christine! Thank you! 
I actually like this poem, too. Lol. I think I may be slowly improving to where someday my poems will be as good as yours!
And it’s all your fault, you know…it’s because of you that I started trying to write poetry in the first place! Ha ha.
Hi Daisy! Well, I’m glad I’m not alone on this!
I’ve seen some lonely abandoned houses that must have been beautiful years ago…and have often wondered why on God’s green earth doesn’t anyone live there anymore?
Hi Swatilohani! Thank you so much! This poem felt almost like it wrote itself…I could even ’see’ the house in my mind’s eye!
Hi Betty! Thanks…I remember even slowing down when coming across particular houses and wishing I had the money to buy them because I could ’see’ how beautiful they would be!
Hi Goodselfme! I’m glad you liked it. For some reason this poem was so easy to write. Abandoned houses just seem to tug at my heart…kind of like a puppy or kitten!
Hi Jo! I know what you mean. My grandparents’ home was sold years ago and now there’s a completely different…and bigger…house standing there! I know life goes on but I wish that it didn’t have to go so fast!
Hi Ken! You know, I never looked!
The more poems I read, the more I learn about this special art! ^-^ Writing poetry, though, is definitely not as easy as simply writing a story! Ha ha.
Hi Anne! Thank you! I’m glad I was able to convey to you the feelings that touched my own heart!
Hi Dee Gold! Sorry it’s taken me so long to respond but my summer ’schedule’ is just so full right! But thank you for reading my poem! I really enjoyed writing it, and I’m glad you enjoyed reading it.
Hi rizzei! Thank you! Houses like this really do bring out the melancholy side of me. Some of them were just so beautiful in their ‘hay day’!
Hi Fresh Writing! Thank you! As soon as my work schedule calms down a bit, I want to try composing a few more poems since this is not an easy craft to perfect!
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