Renovation

Something had to change

the inner structure incomplete,

posts are missing, a beam or two,

I seem to be leaning, slipping,

the architect busy with eraser

as so called memories disappear,

the carpenter’s pencil fat

but sharpened like a knife,

timbers take the knife

like trees took the saw,

the forest but a field of corn,

brackets, bolts, a bucket of nails

staged with thought and muscle –

all this effort to construct

a larger room for silence.

 


 


12 Responses to “Renovation”

  1. Taylor Goforth says:

    Great, Don. Really like this one….!! 🙂

  2. Wonderful work, Don! This is an extended metaphor that comes out of your deepest life, hands-on experience, and it shows in the deftness of your touch here. Just super work!

  3. Athena Coleman says:

    I love this complete description of irony – – –

  4. Janice Miles says:

    Ah the fuss and noise of renovation, yet with each nail hammered in, a bit of life and love, with each beam , each piece of wood.then the final trim.
    All in labor, noise and love, all in the newness of spirit waiting to christen the larger room. The bond and connection! I so love your work thank you for sharing this. My husband was a carpenter and I loved working beside him, the smells of glue and sawdust, paint. and the final project a wonder to behold. If folks could appreciate the love and effort behind the work .
    Did I mention also the sounds? it is so full of life before the project even gets off the ground ! And when all is finish the silence is like a blessing all its own, bringing so much more.

  5. Geoff Tisch says:

    Nicely rendered Don.

  6. Mary Kobe says:

    Inspiration – Renovation

    Making all things new…
    that’s what we do as creator beings
    With a passion, alone and with our companions
    letting love command
    Letting wonders form
    Reshaping hallowed space
    Raising the vibrational level of
    the room…
    the worksite
    the planet…
    the cosmos….
    new space for
    silence,
    stillness,
    presence,
    being
    Love
    Inspiration
    Renovation

  7. Bill Dare says:

    I hear ya, Bro… Love the Silence!

  8. Scott MacRae says:

    Creating new space from old space puts us in the now. Wonderfully said Don.

    Still working in the cave and discovering new things.

  9. Marco says:

    “The criterion and rule of the Truth is to have made it” Giambattista Vico said in 1710. He was writing this in contrast to Descartes cartesian, cerebral model which looked for Truth in observation rather than experience. I can always tie back your poetry to a kernel of practical doing. And that moves me.

  10. eilish says:

    Allison Rotolla once gave me a dollar to be completely silent for 1minute. I think I was 12. Now I am the age you were, as my son is the age I was. I laugh to myself as I plead for quiet from him, knowing that one day too he will seek the silence just like his grandpa, just like his mom. The true work of creating the silence inside myself, seems to be the challenge of a lifetime. Thanks for forging the trail!

  11. I just love the images as my father was a contractor, my brother a builder, and I an inner explorer, seeking the silence within. Lovely , Don.

  12. David Barnes says:

    Love the poem, love the replies! Love the story Eilish tells. I once challenged my daughters Jjanet & Michelle to remain quiet for one minute at the dinner table. They giggled their way through about 15 minutes before they could keep a straight face through a minute of silence. Back then, and even now, their giggles were as precious as the sound of silence to this grateful father’s heart, I love them so. db

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