What once was
is no more.
Where joy and laughter lived,
now sits abandoned…still.
These floors no longer feel
the warmth of movement, day and night.
And these walls,
so white and clear
bare
witness no longer
to lives lived within their sanctum.
The yard,
once vibrant
with art and messy play,
stands empty,
deserted,
except for weeds which push through the gaps –
life still present,
even in this extended solitude.
And the leaves outside
are still a flood of green;
awaiting the inevitable charge
of Autumn’s muted theme.
Change will come –
both outside and within,
as new lives enter these spaces,
the silence filled in.
And what once was so familiar –
all that has been –
will become faded memories,
a warm but distant dream…
slip-sliding away..... 
I love the structure of this poem, Yacoob! It’s so spare and delicate, as though beams of light were bearing your clear and deeply sensitive feelings. Just gorgeous!
Thanks, Kitty. I actually didn’t think of structure at all…it just came out that way. And even then, I feel it could have been improved if I took more time. But I rarely ever do that because once the moment is gone, it’s hard to get back into that state to enhance the raw output.
Nice piece, Yacoob.
When I was younger and single, I would often take a few minutes to stare at a new place I moved into after I moved into it, trying to hold onto what it looked like before I put my own personal stamp on it. Then when I moved out — which happened frequently back then — I would look at it again and try to remember what it looked like when it was still an open book.
I’m sure your old home held many warm memories. Hopefully the new one will hold even more.
Thanks, Vance. I’ve been taking videos along those lines in recent years. Before our renovation in the old place, then after. And then when we left it. And then this new place before and during renovations. It’s for my own personal records, but it’s also something I get to keep for the kids however many decades down the line they look at it. I love the way we can capture moments and history visually like that. It’s one of the greatest positives of technology, in my opinion. Even looking at old pictures from before I was born…I love that too because they convey a sense of this entirely different era.
Sounds like a great way to keep a record of all the living spaces we inhabit in our lives.
I just drove past a prior home again earlier today and each time I do so, I wonder what others have taken pleasure from living within it since I did many years before as a kid. I also recall when we first moved there how everything looked without anyone currently living there. This reminded me of that feeling as well.