The Blood & The Bones

I awaken

cold

and quiet

how long has it been

just me

in this empty house

and I don’t know where it goes

and why it always leaves

yet again

I move across the creaking floors

to turn on the little light

to set a place

inviting peace of mind to visit me

hoping one day it might stay

I sweep the melancholy into corners

and dust the sorrow off the ledges

tidy pity from the counter tops

wiping worry from the windows

making up the beds

and tucking all the tears beneath them

close the empty cabinets

and light a fire in the den

I make it look somewhat like a home

I make it look ok

So, happiness will want to come

and happiness might want to stay

but it arrives all at once

and almost too late

and barely in the door

and barely through the gate

But, soon, the light flickers

soon the light dims

and soon, I know this house

and I

will be vacant again

depression, the only tenant

willing to live forever

in this place

the blood

& the bones