Saturday 22 July 2017

The house by the river


Laurel was her name
Lived in the tumbledown house 
Down by the river

Don't know why I smiled
That day in the marketplace
Her deep dark eyes spoke

Of a loneliness
A pause before she smiled back
And that was the start

We talked for a while 
Then argued about a date
But was invited home

Her son lived with her
Saw his father at weekends
That's when she saw me

She was generous
But as poor as church mouse
I made her happy

And then she told me
They fought over custody
As I kissed her neck

Away interstate
I didn't see her for weeks
Then found she had gone

Her house deserted
The walls creaked but made no sense
But had a sad look

I sat out the back
The river told me nothing
But it never does

Image found at https://comicvine.gamespot.com


9 comments:

  1. Sad and beautiful - I found myself humming a tune as I read. I love tumbledown houses - they are metaphorical in any number of ways - especially by rivers, lakes and seas.
    I love the way the relationship started with m=smiles in the marketplace. My favourite lines:
    'Her house deserted
    The walls creaked but made no sense
    ...
    The river told me nothing
    But it never does'.

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  2. Her house deserted
    The walls creaked but made no sense

    So much emotion has been attached to the building. Great work!

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  3. I, too, love the poignancy of this and the walls making no sense.

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  4. I love the river telling you nothing...suddenly gone. I knew someone like that once. It broke my heart for awhile. But the river by the house where he lived was silent.

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  5. And now you dream of what might or could have been. I've a couple like that as well. Ladies are hard to find after a name change or two. One invited me to join Mensa with her. I wish now I had joined, but of course not the 'with her' part.
    ..

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  6. Clever the way you remained in your (romance/relationship)niche with this on

    here's mine

    much love...

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  7. The house is the woman. I really liked this

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  8. I feel this...We become an empty house at times. Life moves out and we struggle with letting it move back in. Beautiful writing..

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  9. Oh the universal wishes--though some think this is what they have! I am in a public place and couldn't stop myself from calling out and weeping for this narrator. I would forget over an over again and relive it over and over. What a powerhouse of a poem. WOW!

    บุนเดสลีกา

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