Staring at the Painting

Inspired by Raven's poem "Where the Weeds have Overgrown"---

 Staring at the Painting

 

 

a miserly old house

sits alone in an overgrown lot

boarded up

Windows blown out with storm after storm

of chaotic winds

and careless rocks thrown 

by vandals unaware of the heart

this abode might still have

hidden within its falling walls

airy staircase

attic boards rotting

but still fresh memories

guarding like ghosts in the wood

 

I stand and stare

with a million thoughts

stored up and spilling out

like the rains that rotted the wood

and made those ghosts flinch

 

a miserly old house

held family once

and love

 

now it sits alone

segregated from life

as its own arrives

near its conclusion.

 

erin-cilberto

10/26/25

Reviews

[Soren]

Jacob this might well be a metaphor for people as well who suffer abandoned the insults and figurative rocks of the ignorant that there remains a heart inside. A sad poem of neglect and isolation and misunderstanding by those around. Very nicely written

[jacob erin-cilberto]

Thank you for your understanding review.
j.

[RomaJ]

I see the house in your poem as a metaphor for the persistence of memory, the passage of time, and the lingering presence of what once was.

But It really reminded me of my childhood home. Once we all left, it stayed abandoned for many years, and I’m certain even the ghosts that haunted it left when we left. Eventually, a super typhoon leveled the house, leaving only the concrete floor where my dad let us write our names. That is the only thing that remains.

I love how your poem captures that same feeling..the house holding memories, love, and loss, even as it decays.

The magery of storm-beaten windows and rotting wood makes me think of how places carry the past with them long after people have gone.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

Love the insightful reply here...Poor house staying abandoned for years, but glad someone finally moved in and gave your house rebirth.
j.

[Chris Shaw]

The title creates the moment. Standing looking at that painting of what was perhaps once a loving home. A frugal place. Rotting with the years. All the memories flood in. There is a strong metaphor here. Our body is a home too. Gives me the feeling of time passing. Generation after generation. Your poem took a moment in life and gave me a story and transported emotion. Visual and beautiful, wonderful poetry.

Chris

[jacob erin-cilberto]

Thank you for your very kind review, Chris.
j.

[Raven]

Awesome job. I get the feeling like I'm reading a sequel to the poem. Your version is much better J. Masterful job.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

Thank you, Raven. Definitely not better...yours was inspiring.