"Her Room" The room was big for such a little girl
A twin sized bed with 2 matching dressers
Plus a filing cabinet which she decorated
with hundreds of stickers
her very own TV and VCR
The little girl had a self-made “Play Pen”
A masterpiece, really
The corner of the room was lined with blankets
And pillows
Adorned with dolls posters and notepads
And roped off with a phone cord
A bathing suit and sweater slung over the cord
For “more privacy”
She built forts out of towels and umbrellas
Had sleepovers
And read to her stuffed animals
Her room was the perfect place
A place to rest comfortably when she was sick
Where her dad could come in
frequently
To take her temperature
A place for him to soothe her sunburns
to rub vinegar and aloe on her
So gently
It was the perfect room to sleep in
Where her Dad could lay with her
Tell her stories
And review long division with her
Yes, her room was the perfect place for all these things
"House Words"
Thirteen fifty six
Hunt (h.u.n.t.)
Terrance (t.e.r.r.a.c.e.)
Harbor city, California
Nine oh seven ten
I can still hear my owner’s voice giving my address over the phone
He and his daughter lived here for ten years
Well, my owner lived here for ten years
His daughter, twelve years
I was built, brand new, in a gated community
With a tan marble entry way
Mauve carpeting downstairs
Tile in the kitchen
Granite countertops
And white carpet upstairs
On the mantle above the fireplace was a row of pictures of my owner’s daughter
in chronological order
I could tell he loved her with all his heart
Pictures of her were the first pieces of furniture
Her room, which got the most light and faced the front of the house
Was the most joyful
My owner’s daughter had a cute habit of ‘nesting’ immediately
And as she got older the décor changed
Furniture got rearranged
Staples and thumbtacks pierced me in order to hang posters
Ranging from Casper
To Titanic
The Wizard of Oz
And hundreds of pictures of her and her friends
My owner’s bedroom was fit for a king.
As big as a small apartment
His closet could have been a fourth bedroom
It housed the man he once was
A fraternity brother in the sixties
A salesman in the seventies
A golfer in the eighties
A single father in the nineties
I worried for my owner
I worried for the day his daughter would leave him
Alone in my big body
But that day never came for him
Instead it came for her
And then an emptiness
Only perceivable to a house
Set in
In every room and even outside
My bones were uneasy and sad
My energy warned all the neighbors grief lives here
I heard the owner’s daughter wake in the night
I hear her screaming, broken voice reverberating off my limbs
I want my Dad. Daddy, please come back. Why did you leave me?
I kept her warm
I kept her safe
Until it was time for her to leave
She cleaned me
She thanked me
And tearfully said goodbye
*Dad, there are some things I'd like you to know...
You were always centered and decisive, you lived with integrity and always protected your realm. You created and inspired my creativity. You've blessed the lives of others and you've left a beautiful legacy.
Dad, you are a timeless energy, vastly underrated, deeply important and a profoundly loving man. I will always try to make you proud and love you, with intention, today, tomorrow and forever.*
With Love,
