Sunday, March 28, 2021

The Basement - Poetry inspired by t. s. eliot

The Basement

The basement was always the quietest coolest room

In the house where we lived so long

The pitch of the roof always brought me regret 

In the house where I lived so long


The kitchen though was full of energy and potential

Clocks on the wall tocking loud

The open bifolds to machines ready to go

Or always going moving shaking spinning

The windows to the deck, the door, the glass

Don’t look at them but through.

The door to the den, to the unused berry room

Loud talking voices with no escapes

The work swirls round the island in that kitchen 

In the house where I lived so long


I often stared at the backyard, sighed at the space

Those untrodden trails, pebbles that never fell

Those pavers that held the Adirondack chairs

That never appeared at that house

The trees slowly died, sunshine fed the weeds

I vowed I would try, but life was inside.


The list grew long of memories and forget-its 

In the basement, the art desk grew tall of undone

Still the coolest, quietest spot in the house.

But no matter how large I muraled the sun

The warmth and noise in the kitchen always won

In that house, the one where we truly lived.


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