Once Varnished Floors Bare Tarnished Dreams

On the perforated border
sits a condemned sign-
property and former occupant.
The once manicured lawn,
now a mound of dirt, rocks.
The silhouette of a lonely child
playing innocent games lingers;
a dark shadow with a predatory hand
hovers, waiting its chance

A solitary frame baring the scars of time
greets a broken heart in its tarnished prime;
faded paint, cankered by the elements,
mirrors peeling soul eroded by memories

The wrap-around porch- creaky boards
holding a rusted swing addles; the same
summer breeze curdles the night air
with an eerie melody that once primed
nimble fingers. The haunting requiem,
dark instruments still stride my memory

Entering the spacious Living room,
wooden planks rise from the floor.
Buried in the corroded walls
dastardly deeds that time
and plaster could not conceal.
An outline of furniture pops up.
In the corner, a solitary rocker
positioned by a cozy fireplace,
where my dulled senses would
not flare. Sitting on his lap
each rhythmic rock, preening hand
turned my childhood dreams
into a perennial nightmare.

Climbing the once spiraling staircase,
now tattered, with crooked gaps,
which will ever symbolize the
timeless void seething in my soul.
Into the bedroom, a sanctuary
profaned by cultivating hands;
whose seed bore duplicitous fruit

From the bedroom into the attic,
now a cluttered repository,
then a clean, spacious hideaway
where my hollowed-out spirit
could skirt time and space
leaving only a tainted shell