I LIVE HERE

My cottage is comfortable,

I’ve seen to that, and it has

not been easy.

The walls paneled in the dark wood

of half a dozen times I thought I would

bleed to death from emotional E-boli

picked up in a random jungle where

I thought adventure lay in wait.

Down at the end of the room

a fire still burns over a thick

bed of embers, and needs

some poking, a little stirring,

and maybe a new log or two

dug out of the snow.

The furniture is as comfortable

as an answer that needs no proof

of how the universe came to be,

or why love is all we need

in a rock and roll cadence

tinged with blue. Listening

to those songs, it is easy to stare

out the window at a world distorted

by the bevels of leaded

diamonds and imagine the

purple and green of spring.

When I get hungry, the kitchen

almost takes me into the trees,

through giant windows.

That antique stove weighs a ton

and has a built in cabinet where

a pilot keeps the crackers crisp

and my dish towels dry. It doesn’t

matter if I make a stew, bake a

crusty bread, or do a wide breakfast,

it is a thin place.

I’ve read a lot of books

in the bedroom and turned your pages

too, looking for clues to how this works,

watched you sleep, and dreamed.

A noisy railroad clock occupies itself

in the hallway, its brass pendulum

knocking about in loud ticks,

bangs the hour by the numbers and

every fifteen minutes, so I can’t escape.

One of these days, I’ll have

enough, and just for spite,

not wind the clangorous b*****d.

For now though, I think the coffee

has done it’s job, time to get up,

walk over there, take my poker,

and roust those embers back to life.

Reviews

[Lorry]

I know it wasn't an intentional part of reading this Vol, but I just about had an accident when I pictured you finally having enough of that clangorous b*****d railway clock in the hall and going all Al Pacino from Scarface on it, screaming "say hello to my leetle friend!" as you shoot the s**t out of it! 😊
I had been just looking at one in an antique store I happened by, and thought to myself "What an excellent way to fall asleep", but after about a week of it I think I would be forgetting to unwind it too... In the hope it just stopped and didn't do that creepy thing that kids toys do when the batteries are running out and just slow the noise down, creeping the s**t out of you in the middle of the night, when you hear a slowed down toy dolls voice say I love uou" in slow motion as you trod on it in the middle of the night! 😊
Anyway, back to the plot and a home should be comfortable, even if you know which floorboards creak without standing on them and do we really need anything more than that, a comfortable and safe place to lay our weary bones each night and keep those embers burning.

[Vol]

Lorry,
I always look forward to hearing from you, and just so you know, these days I'm the one who does all the creaking around here ... but you reminded me of a song from my youth... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WhLhF12TBE

[Lorry]

Ha! I know that song! There was a guy here, who moulded himself on Elvis, called Shakin' Stevens, who had a big hit with it in the eighties I think. In fact he had lots of hits, that strangely other people wrote and I don't remember him mentioning they were covers, but why would he unless someone asked?
I know how you feel about the creaks though. I just realised that I make different versions of the same noise for getting out of bed, getting out a chair and picking up something from the floor. I even recognise some of them as the noises my dad made and we laughed at, but they aren't quite as funny now, are they? 😊

[Vol]

Excuse me... ow!!! I just had to pick up my pen...

[Lorry]

Sometimes it feels like it would be best just to leave it where it ws and keep a box of them handy where you don't have to do a complete workout by just picking the thing up.
Can ruin a day before it's even started! 😊

[Vol]

So... you've been spying... I keep them in cups... various sets of eyeglasses in larger cups... a couple in every room...