What is the perfect way to build a house
Is it to choose the right materials, wood?
To feel the strength of walls around
which weather the storms, but do little to dampen their sounds
Or is to choose the stucco on cinders
Beautiful and strong, at least until it’s gone
which provide you with happiness
at great expense
Maybe the bedrooms should be soft, lined with velvet and gold
To enjoy the nights alone underneath chandeliers
which shimmer
Or they can be filled with statues made of bronze and stone
which stand still forever
marking the passage of your time
Maybe bookshelves should line the barren halls
— which carry us owners someplace new every day
Or we could protect our floors with carpets
That dampen the sounds
of our thundering steps
And put blinds over the windows
To blot out the night
We could leave our candles beside us
So that we can see inside
Or we could place them on the porch
for us to see everything else
I think
the perfect way to build a house
isn’t to build one of wood and stone;
not with glasses, fabrics, carpets and gold
But to build one that flickers
within the darkness; giving us something to look forward to
-V