Not More or the Same

A poem about a peculiar dream home

When people dream up their houses
they think up how lovely they’ll be:
Grand rooms and a lawn they can mow -
and space for a flat screen TV.

There’s carpeting from wall to wall
and lights they can dim by remote.
3 bedrooms, 2 baths and a hall,
with convenient hooks for their coat.

The living room’s spacious and wide
with  a pleather couch, a lazy boy,
and a fire place of composite stone
that makes crackling sounds for the kids to enjoy.

The kitchen’s no less than gourmet
with granite counters, a new microwave,
and a stainless steel fridge
for the take-out they’ll save.

The basement’s a place to hang out
with a green pool table and plenty of games
for the up-to-date game systems
with the Japanese names.

The master bedroom’s equipped
with a stereo and a king-sized bed,
a marble bathroom, a walk-in closet,
and a shelf of books they’d like to have read.

Outside, there’s a 2-car garage
and a patio with a barbeque
and an umbrella table with bright white chairs
and an in-ground pool for when work is through.

But I know all these houses
from ads on TV
are alright for some

but don’t work for me.

I’ll build my home in the side of a hill
with a garden on top by the chimney
and forest stretching a long way behind
as far as my eyes can see.

Inside, a cozy room with a loft above
for reading and writing and sleeping
and a little bathroom with a sink and a tub
for fresh water I’ll carry for washing.

Instead of lawn will be garden
with pasture for sheep and a cow
and plenty of veggies and herbs
for whatever I’m cooking now.

Unlike other gardens,
mine won’t grow in neat rows
with fertilizers, pesticides
and growing hormones.

My garden will grow as nature grows,

diverse and wild as can be
and I’ll know each plant by heart
to pick out for salads or baking or tea.

And nature will tend the garden
with spiders and worms and rain
while I read to my little children
of dragons and heroes again.

Some may scoff at my vision
say I’m insane
to want less than I’ve had
not more or the same

But to me it’s more
this house in the hill
and maybe I’ll build it.
I hope that I will.

Reviews

[Fae]

This is splendid. I really like your approach. It sounded mildly childish in the beginning but got progressively better. Some rhymes are very beneficial to the poem, but I think you should try some prose work and see what happens. I really like some of these verses.

Great job.

[Sami Khalil]

"I’ll build my home in the side of a hill
with a garden on top by the chimney
and forest stretching a long way behind
as far as my eyes can see.




Inside, a cozy room with a loft above
for reading and writing and sleeping
and a little bathroom with a sink and a tub
for fresh water I’ll carry for washing."

A very good write ...Thank you for penning...:).............