Abandoned House

She was short, say the markings on the wall

by the Christmas tree that never gets taken down;
an artistic girl too, say the piles and piles of art supplies
all around the living room; and a proud, dog owner, say the leash and the many, many dog toys
strung about the house, bite marks on all of them;
but not a girl for socializing, say the books
piled so high no one, not even her, could see above them.

Her mother lived with her, say the copious amounts of turquoise
that cover the pillows and the little Knick knacks
all over the shelves, and they had an old cat too,
say the chunks of dirty litter all over the floor.
They put family first, say the pictures
Hanging all over the walls.
And the Texas summers hot, say the 3 huge fans, all over the house.
It was peaceful here, say the echoes of laughter and love.

Everything's different now, says the empty room

filled with memories. The rocking chair in the back
says it hadn’t been used in forever; the indention
in the empty room’s bed, forever there, says more than you will ever know.
As for the animals? Their food is scattered all over the floor
like loose pebbles on the road-their paw prints
molded into the now dry, cracked, earth,
water stains all over the floor. Everything's different now, they say.