Analysis of Home

Turning off the paved road you enter a tunnel of trees
Serenity enfold your mind with the beauty of nature
The creek beside the dirt road flows steadily thru the hallows
Offering a cool feeling in the summer's heat, peace.

Crunch of the tires cause a lazy Blue Heron to stir
Broken from his deliberations he takes flight, gliding
Further up the way he circles low to another perch
His eye constantly searching the waters for a meal.

A paved path to the right gives your car sure-footing
As it climbs up the twisting incline, and up again
You pass the ancient barn color faded by the years
Sun bleached yet still offering shelter, safety.

Rain feed pond no longer has the catfish jumping
Since kindness was rewarded by greed of a neighbor
But the cows find comfort in its water, cooling
Among the water lilies blooming proud in the sun.

Continue up a little and see the red barn garage
Sheltered by aged oaks and hickory, tall and strong
Three bays wide, two for cars and one for mechanics
Work my father did to build this place, his living.

Up the steps on the right a wood shop is found
This too was built by my father with two strong hands
Furniture built there fills the house with a love of labor
Wood stove now stands cold remembering past times.

White wooden fence separates field from yard proper
The ‘Marten House' sits atop its pole for our friends
A covered coy pond abandon, now used for hanging flower
Broken pot garden blooms to the joy of the sun.

The garden out back where most of the food was grown
Fills with weeds and grass, untended since his departure
Chicken coop left without hens, overgrown hen yard
Home for wild Blackberries, ticks and chiggers.

Log smokehouse no longer used for bacon or hams
The taste still fresh in the memory and taste buds
Root cellar and sometimes storm shelter cool
Blocked by nature's plan to erase human construct.

Tall oaks surround the tops of the hill, shaded yard
Where the white house stands, mother's home
Warm in the winter, cool in the summer
Filled with her life and its treasures, blessings.