Produced by Dennis Camire
This week’s poem is by John Reinhart of Brunswick.
At Home
By John Reinhart
Swallows flit under the eaves, carrying grass and twigs, building
their home, well-insulated and protected, swooping over Akers Pond
for food, which wings itself numerous and nutritious.
Boomerangs flung with precision, they arc out over the water,
flight paths mirrored in rainbows, treasures promised each, the bounty
of summer, while I draw plans for autumn, noting the gaps
in need of insulation. We haven’t bought the house yet,
still preparing to gather the supplies, settling under the eaves
of a small town, three blocks from a grocery store and library.
What work to go under debt ten times what my salary
will pay in a year, a contractual debt to mimic the real debt
we owe to this house, stewards to its 100-year-old beams,
to the men who dug its foundation, the children born
under its eaves. Tribute, honor as we add our own touches,
a little wild west to the formal dining room.
With a bird house in the yard, some small gesture
that a greater power might provide, provide and let go,
leaving us to improvise a little, a trust that goes both directions.
Dennis Camire can be reached at dcamire@cmcc.edu
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