House

I like this house
When it is quiet,
When I have time
To sit and think.

I think of this house
As a place that has breathed us
In and out all these years,
A silent witness to our days.

Tender sweetness,
Conflict and tears,
This house has absorbed it all
With fortifying patience.

It has stored in its walls
As I have stored in my heart
Each new moment
Of each unfolding day.

By Maria Brady-Smith

Photo by Mike Smith