That The House Stood . . .
March 11 2008


Pulling into winter, edging out
is hard on this old house,
set on cinder blocks in a hole in the frozen ground.
Doors stick
floors sag
and sharp cracking sounds startle me
on nights when temperatures plunge.
And across a few inches of wood
some pink insulation
a difference of 100 degrees,
this small refuge of heat
persevering through the cold season.

But this appeals to me
— a house made of 2 x 4’s and lath,
wooden joists and cedar planks
instead of concrete and steel.
Where I hear the wind
rattling glass
and groaning in the eaves.
Where I feel the ground
shift when it thaws.
And where I am attached to the earth
inhabiting winter,
never complacent
that God gave man
dominion over this world.

I am grateful to survive
another cold hard winter;
that the house stood
that the ground has settled again.
This spring
the weathered wood will get a new coat of paint
— the old house looking good
for another long hot summer.