change of address

Gold cherry
Poem of the week
Pick of the Month

By Di_Hard

Tue, 16 Apr 2019
  • 11014 reads
29 comments
 

houses are envelopes   

posted through time   

recipients changing  

 

letters put in, taken 

out. From the War  

son, brother, father, lost  

 

mother upstairs, her bed  

long gone, as she 

these cornered edges knew  

 

someone put up a shelf

when taken down

hid a child's photograph

 

from the clothes, she'll be old

now (a granny?)

her smile a scent forgot

 

outside, digging hard ground

slim yellow bones -

cat? Mine watches birds high

 

in the tree I planted

memories grow

as we add today's stamp

 

did their ancestors' song

imprint these walls

sealed by the touch of sun

 

inspired by philip sydney's beautiful poem https://www.abctales.com/story/philip-sidney/affected-issue

Certificate U
Poem
Inspiration Point (work that responds to our weekly writing cue)

Comments

Submitted by Rhiannonw on

I like the encouragement of viewing a static house and being inspired to think, as of a film running, of the happenings and occupants over so many years.Inside the envelope, as you say!

Her smile a scent forgot is a lovely line from a photo discovered of someone unknown of long ago.

Rhiannon

 

Submitted by Di_Hard on

Thankyou so much Rhiannon! I took that line out, so have put it back.

 

Submitted by Insertponceyfre... on

This is wonderful Di. I love the description of a house as being like an envelope through time - it's exactly how I feel about them!

 

Submitted by Di_Hard on

Thankyou Insert, and for finding the brilliant picture, and pick of the day, that is a wonderful surprise!

 

Submitted by skinner_jennifer on

Good morning Di, your poem describes well the many memories within our homes and upon the land they're built on. If walls and land could talk, I bet they'd have plenty to say. 

I could identify with the stanza about a shelf being taken down and a child's photograph being found. Though mine was a bit grisly. My gran lived in an old coaching house, when she sold the house the new people knocked down walls and found a human skeleton in one of the walls, it did give me the shivers to wonder how it got there and not knowing even to this day who it belonged to.

Any way back to your poem, I like the idea of houses being envelopes posted through time, each new recipient adding their own personal touch.

Very much enjoyed reading.

Jenny.

 

Submitted by Di_Hard on

that IS  a spooky story!!! Thankyou for sharing it. Is not the sort of thing estate agents mention.  How could you live somewhere after finding that? I hope the poor person was dead beforehand. I know they used to put shoes and things behind walls of old houses as good luck, but not a person. That's aweful. I'm sorry to have reminded you!

 

 

Submitted by airyfairy on

 It is a lovely image, Di, perfectly capturing how houses carry so much of everyone who has ever lived there.

Submitted by Di_Hard on

Thankyou very much for your lovely comment AiryFairy

 

Submitted by luigi_pagano on

I like this original analogy comparing houses to envelopes. Although at first it doesn't look as if they have anything in common, the similarity between the two becomes clearer when we consider what happens within both. The occupants of buildings can fluctuate with new occupiers - either tenants or new owners - and it is an ever changing situation with the passage of time (it may take more than one generation). The contents of envelopes are letters bearing information about births, deaths, marriages and anything to do with the human condition, which varies from day to day.
A poetical and whimsical representation.

Luigi x

 

 

Submitted by Di_Hard on

Thankyou so much for your expert analysis Luigi, that's exactly what I was hoping to express. Our house is about 160 years old I think, and so much must have happened, so many world events and personal events too

 

Submitted by Insertponceyfre... on

This lovely piece will strike a chord with many, that's why it's our Facebook and Twitter Pick of the Day!

Please share if you enjoy it

Picture Credit: https://tinyurl.com/y35u6ty7

 

Submitted by Di_Hard on

Thankyou so much!

 

Submitted by Jane Hyphen on

Excellent poem, really made me think. There is something sad about the idea of us just passing through but that is what we are all doing isn't it. All those plastic Little Tyke wendy houses people buy for their kids are destined to outlive us all, let alone real bricks and mortar. I live in a brand new house now and it felt very strange when we first moved in, sort of spiritless. I love the restraint in your poems, you leave space for the reader.

 

Submitted by Di_Hard on

Oh Jane! Yes! All the plastic toys will outliving children. The first radio program I heard about plastic in the sea was about what a dead seabird had in its stomach, one of the things was a plastic turtle. Both creatures of the sea, both might become extinct but the plastic toys of them will last forever. That we could destroy the world for our children's children but the toys we buy now will survive. Will you write about this?

 

Submitted by seashore on

Reminds me of the BBC2 programme 'A House Through Time'. I wondered if that was your inspiration?
Either way, nicely done.

Submitted by Di_Hard on

Thankyou very much for reading Seashore.

That sounds like a great program, we don't have telly though. The poem came from what I had been reading on ABC that night, particularly

https://www.abctales.com/story/philip-sidney/affected-issue

https://www.abctales.com/story/schubert/my-street

I  hope you are ok

 

Submitted by agnosticnun on

This is really lovely.

Kristi

Submitted by Di_Hard on

Thankyou so much Kristi :0)

 

Submitted by Di_Hard on

 :0) Thankyou for reading this.The cat is a black and white female. She used to be a stray. When she came here she had pulled nearly all her fur out and was very hungry. Now she only pulls her fur out if she is frustrated (I think) ;p[[[[[[[[/';;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;this is her walking on the keyboard. The tree is a chokebery or aronia, it's an American tree I think. I got it because it can cope with shade and still have berries for the blackbirds in Autumn. It has pretty leaves in Autumn too ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,her walking on keyboard again. It's about 10 feet high and I stupidly planted a honeysuckle up it which is now a sort of lid on the top. The birds like this too though as it's somewhere to shelter under when it rains, which it does here, a lot :0)

 

Submitted by Insertponceyfre... on

This is our Poem of the Week - congratulations!

 

Submitted by Di_Hard on

Wow! Thankyou!

 

Submitted by Penny4athought on

I often wonder about the house I grew up in, now someone else's home...did we forget a picture? Leave behind a treasured trinket that fell into a floor board? Maybe a well loved house does capture some of our beloingings just to hold on to us as well.

I truly loved this poem - it took me to places I wanted to go back to and made me smile-

Thank you for this happy rewind.smiley

Penny4athought

Submitted by fey_mouse on

 

 

Submitted by Di_Hard on

Thankyou so much for your lovely comment! That was really kind :0) What a brilliant thought, that a house might keep things to remember us by, rather than us losing them!

 

Submitted by celticman on

I was thinking of house through time too (I'll need to catch up with the newest one). But houses as envelopes, yeh, even the shape is perfect. 

 

Submitted by Di_Hard on

Thankyou celticman, yes they are, when the flap is open like a roof;0)

 

Submitted by Insertponceyfre... on

This is our Poem of the Month - Congratulations!

 

Submitted by Di_Hard on

Thankyou so much, that's made the sun shine, even though it's cloudy and north wind cold :0)

 

Submitted by Di_Hard on

oooo0999999 from the cat and thankyou so much from me=========--she has just walked back accross the keyboard. This has made my day :0)