It is not until later
that you have to be young
it is one of those things
you meant to do later
but by then there is
someone else living there
with the shades rolled down
how could you have been young there
at that time
with all that was expected
then what happened to
the expectations
there is no sign of them there
a shadow passes across the window shade
what do they know in there
whoever they are
W.S. Merwin
The top image is a recent real estate photo taken in the back of the house where I grew up just outside Greensburg, PA. The window to the left is to the room that had been my bedroom. While I was in college, my parents took this window out, installed a door, and turned the room into a den. At some point--probably not long ago-- a new owner took out the door and replaced the window, returning the room to being a bedroom. You can see how the bricks are newer under the window. So in this way, it is more as it was when I grew up there than it has been since.
The wood deck is new as well--it had been a brick patio-- and judging from the wood and bricks piled in the photo, all this was done recently when the photo was taken several years ago.
The real estate photos of the inside are interesting. They show what has survived and what hasn't. They also suggest that no children have lived here recently. I don't think it has been a family home anymore.
I see that I've posted this poem here before, but it means even more to me when paired with this picture.
