Permanent Residence

We have been corralled at last,

ring-fenced by this box of a house

that attempts to soothe our pacing

with low murmurs of 'settle down, settle down'

So we try, to some extent, camping out in the lounge,

the other rooms feeling oddly superfluous.

We buy towels for the bathroom,

a plant for the hall and yet

the house yells 'temporary' to all who step within.

Our roots it seems, are not as strong as we had hoped

our ability to settle has thumbed a lift

on some random passing bus

leaving only dust and restlessness in its wake

Reviews

[TLK]

"the other rooms feeling oddly superfluous."
I can imagine them, even though you don't speak of them. The bedroom with the bed that remains oddly fresh, as if you are Bruce Wayne and don't really sleep. The kitchen, unmussed. And so on.

Overall the feeling of this poem, as CAF has said, is a little sad. However, it is still left possible that your ability to settle might come back, chagrined and sheepish at having disappeared.

[New Dawn]

Yes - we were soon anchored by a mortgage and children but each and every spring I feel the need to go 'walkabout' - perhaps I will one day

[.]

"our ability to settle has thumbed a lift
on some random passing bus"

~ i absolutely loved this piece... especially the lines i quoted... ~ i haven't stepped out in ages but i experience this restlessness all the time... i wish i could just hop on to that bus and run away... anything to not have to think about anything... but i think the universe is very shrewd... it's on to me... and that's why it's making me stay in one spot... i wish i win again one day though... and just run away from here... ~ a big, big thank you for this post... it's my heartsong...

[Shimmerbliss/CAF]

Wow...this hits hard and speaks to me of a relationship that perhaps had high hopes, but has settled into "a corral" where the horses are restless to run free. Your writing is awesome, and this poem flows full of great imagery and associations that I find fresh and memorable.

[New Dawn]

Thanks Claire - this was written about our attempts to settle into normal life after our travels - we really did camp out in the lounge for a few months feeling extremely restless. getting jobs and starting a family soon grounded us but it for a time every time we left the house we had to fight the urge to set off travelling again

[Shimmerbliss/CAF]

Oh...well, I wasn't totally off. :) I suppose I was doing a bit of projecting my own experience - you know how that is. For me, it works either way. That is what I love about good poems...so many different things to find in them.