Ode to an Empty House

"Ode to An Empty House"
in memory of my childhood home
and my parents who went to Glory this year


The house lies silent in the sun,

the sound of wind sighing in the 

trees no more.

I turn my key in the lock

and step inside the door.

Gleaming floors reflect filtered light

  no foot heard on the stairway treads,

  the stillness of an empty home.

The rail that felt a thousand childrens' hands

polished to a golden brown.

No Mama in the kitchen,

 no Daddy in his chair

the cupboard doors hide nothing now

there's empty shelves and bare.

Each step across this floor, 

hundreds of times each day

  the footsteps got slower over time

 but the love it yet remained.

Only silence in an empty house,

they've crossed the threshold o'er

and from here I cannot see them

standing on the other shore.

 The silence echoes a sad refrain 

 and empty rooms are all I have to see,

  the tears trace hot and salty pathways

and memories linger free.

Goodbye house,

 home of love and grace,

the walls would echo if they could

that God dwelt in this place.



(My childhood home, ready to sell
Beautiful memories available for free!
Anyone who buys this house will be blessed
I know! There's been so much love and goodness
and godliness here that the very walls breath it out.)

by Karen Helmes
2013