MUSTY OLD HOUSE
I walk through this musty old house
emptied by time and circumstance
breathe in stale, repulsive odors
of food decayed and leaching from
corroded containers on an old kitchen table
holding onto an unsteady handrail
I carefully climb the stairs
where shadows paint obscurities on the walls
stained outlines remain where pictures hung
the steps creak and groan
without rugs to cushion them
while the disappointed sun’s light
seeps through curtain-less windows
particles float in the air
disturbed by movement
lifeless bedrooms wait in stillness
uncovered floors
empty closets, doors ajar without beds,
books, lamps or clocks nothing marking time
to sleep or rise but dawn and dusk
a lone Eastern Box Turtle lingers in dried brown
yellowed Maple leaves in the front yard
far from water, Japanese Stilt-grass
pokes through the earth
overwhelming the abandoned lawn
but he does not notice me, just stares at the house
where there is no longer food or commotion
and what of companionship?
the house, its grayed muted shadow
projected on a nearby two-dimensional brick
now a home without a heart
where love may have lost its way
I stand in the yard now
with the turtle in his domed carapace
together we stare at the old home
I want to pick him up
release him in a nearby field
but resist the urge
leaving him in his spot to keep watch
six-hundred feet from where he hatched
Bio:
Margaret R. Sáraco’s writing has appeared in Peregrine Journal, Love Poems, “Shalom: The Jewish Peace Letter, Write Like Your Alive, Montclair Write Group Sampler, Celebrating 60 Years of New Jersey Peace Action!, and Italian Americans and the Arts & Culture. She has been a featured reader in Welcome the Sabbath Bride with Poetry and Song, Poetry U, The Art and Poetry of Teaching. Upcoming publications include The Paterson Literary Review, LIPS, and The Sports Issue.
OVUNQUE SIAMO 