When they tore the house down,
\ndid the lintels cry out,
\ncalling for me?
\nDid the windows,
\nwhen they fell to the ground, say,
\nwe have opened our secrets
\none last time,
\nopened them to his dreams,
\nand he is not here.
\nDid the windows say that?<\/p>\n
Did they dream?
\nDid the rain fall and cover the dust
\nwith transparent tears?
\nDid the walls,
\nthat heard my singing,
\nhold on to the notes as they disappeared?
\nBreaking apart like ruined cymbals,
\nmy voice carrying with a guitar
\ninto the soft night,
\nwhere my father still sings.<\/p>\n
Did the house forget me
\nin its exploding anguish?
\nDid its last words tumble into trucks
\nnot knowing they had nothing more to say?
\nThat old house holding the odor
\nof Sandusky Bay,
\nfull of train whistles, and soot,
\napples with their sweet sourness.<\/p>\n
Did the house remember me
\nand know I did not know?
\nThat its death, its old fires,
\npassed me in my dreams,
\nand I saw only the shadow of a storm
\nas the dozer pushed its walls down,
\nand scooped up the broken glass and nails
\nthat held my soul together.<\/p>\n
I found it later,
\nthe ruins,
\nthe empty space,
\na few fragments of splinters and paint,
\nand a wail went up inside me,
\na quiet shriek in an old man\u2019s heart,
\nas I sat on the tracks,
\npushing gravel with my feet,
\nlistening,
\nremembering,
\nthe old house with its torn curtains,
\ncomforting me as best it could.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
When they tore the house down, did the lintels cry out, calling for me? Did the windows, when they fell to the ground, say, we…<\/p>\n