The House of Things You’ve Known
You must enter the dream
Like a rose petal unfolding
At midnight
Making no sound
And appearing not to move
The journey that is not a journey
Begins and ends on a rose petal
Unfolding
The rose has grown wild
Against a broken trellis
And an abandoned house
That sags with absence
This dream place would be barren
But for the rose
Petal unfolding
Grown wild against silence
Which you cannot break
Even if you could be heard
And what you will not say
Is all that remains of this house
The house of things you’ve known
The rose petal
Unfolding at midnight
Is why you have come
Not the broken window
Which allows time to seep
In and out of absence
Curling over and through
And past
You must exit the dream
You have seen enough
Been enough alone
Unable to start or end
The journey that is not a journey
While you were dreaming
The rose petal unfolded
Though neither of you moved
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just beautiful and i’m smiling
Thank you!
I adore these, Rae. So good:
“And what you will not say
Is all that remains of this house
The house of things you’ve known”
“You have seen enough
Been enough alone”
Thank you! I’ve been holding this one for a while, not entirely convinced that it was finished. Today, I decided to set it free.
Rae, this is a beautiful poem – it (and the photo) took my breath away!
I especially love:
Not the broken window
Which allows time to seep
In and out of absence
Curling over and through
And past
That just makes me go “wow!!”
Thank you! I love it when people say “wow”!
Beautiful, Rae!
Thank you! How are the fox cubs?
I don’t know, Rae. I have stayed away from them since my 6th visit.
I would not be able to resist the temptation!
Ahhh….I loved the first two lines. Beautiful poem and photograph.
Fluid, enigmatic and lyrical…a really lovely poem. So glad you let it unfold and set it free!