there are a couple of people

who may be able to identify this

years of fingertips patinaed this wood

over the funky decorative painting

the latch many times repaired

this is what an old house holds: layers of time and lives

and if

i look up

on an ordinary may day

i sometimes see little dances

or down, the ferny places

that invite me to ponder

as do the cool mornings we had last week

as healing progressed

and i didn't work on the book.

i think

healing and decay

all keep us human

knowing our place.