If we lived here,
we would see trees
from every window –
vertical lines
accented by the light
through the leaves.
If we lived here,
we’d gather
acorns and cones,
strips of bark and lichen.
We’d grow so accustomed
to the quiet
so much so
that the snaps
and howls of the forest
wouldn’t echo and crawl
into our rooms.
We’d shut the drapes
in the winter
and pile wood on the porch
for fires.
And in the summer,
we would abandon the house,
and spend most of our days
outside.
Some of the doors
might lose
their handles
and some of the rooms
might lose
their doors,
but out here,
the house is just a shelter
and the home
is outside,
among the trees.
~ Megan M. Codera
* NaPoWriMo poem prompt for Day 16: take the “Almanac Questionnaire,” which solicits concrete details about a specific place (real or imagined). Then write a poem incorporating or based on one or more of your answers.
