I Stand

My house (built in 1899 - this is the 1940 tax photo) above...

I was recently asked to contribute some poetry for a book that will be showing 1940s and current photos of Historic Northeast Kansas City.

Considering the first volume of the book contained a poem written the original owner of our 119-year-old home, I thought it was very cool that I was asked to submit a poem for Volume 2.

Our house shortly before it was renovated in 2010.

I am so lucky to live in an old house. They are solid, well-built, and will last far longer than we will if only cared for properly.

I sat down and wrote the poem, from the house's perspective...

I Stand

The decades fly past
The sky above a kaleidoscope of change
Clouds and sun and stars
Wind and rain and stillness

Around me my sisters have fallen
And low-slung simpler structures
Have replaced them
The city grows as I stand still

My gables creak but my frame holds steady
Through snow, through wind and heat of summer
The paint slowly slips from turned wood
My roof sags and I am home to creatures

If I could close my eyes
I would remember how I began
The children who cried and grew
Within my walls

The smells of home cooked meals
The rustle of skirts and
Laughter and love
Families who called me HOME

All gone now
And I am alone
Left here to slowly decay
Each year slightly less than I was before

Then a soft voice full of wonder at my door
“Look at the balusters, the spandrels!”
And the touch of hands and
Breath and dreams finds me

It isn’t overnight
Seasons pass and the work
The love it continues
Repairing and smoothing

Replacing what is sagging
Painting what is barren
Returning me to the beauty
I once was.

Their feet cross my floors
Accepting the creaks and dips
Laughter rolls through me
And I feel young again

I stand.

Our home now.