Monday, January 3, 2011

Poem: Journey to Beauty

The Journey to Beauty

You remember this house
when it was a shell,
empty windows and doorways
filled with vines, gray and lifeless,

like yourself, drained by time
and wear, abandoned and left
to lie, no one caring enough
to repair or refresh,

not even, ultimately,
yourself.

You remember this house,
and where you began,
not with fresh paint
and glass, but down below,

in the dark grey of the foundation,
replacing the grey stones,
one after another, with stones
square and true, and

not of this world, perfect
because they were not yours, but God's,
waiting, waiting, waiting
for you to secretly lay them where, unseen
they would hold up the world.

You remember this house,
not the way it is seen today,
but as it once was, a ruin,
Aware as few are, to

the long painful path
from the edge of death,
to rebirth and renovation:
the journey to beauty.

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The picture was taken in Botetourt Country, Va., near Eagle Rock. You can click on it for a larger version.

Tom

2 comments:

The lady in Red said...

Dear Tom, this poem reminds us "start from scratch"...that is life! Thanks for sharing so beautiful poem!
Best wishes, have a nice week,

Rosana

Tess Kincaid said...

Ah, restoration. A subject near and dear to my heart. Lovely piece, Tom.

I have many ancestors from Botetourt Co. Perhaps this is house belonged to one of them?