The Big House

A possibly haunted house

The Big House

(for Patricia)

That house held a secret,

Perhaps many,

Perhaps the explanation

Of why plowing the pasture one day

Father unearthed a human skeleton.

It was built by homesteaders,

Had held the lives of

Three generations.

One entered through a spacious kitchen,

Immediately encountered the wood cookstove

Which also heated water for the bath to one side.

A spacious pantry lay to the other.

It made me sick and chilled

To enter further,

To pass through the front room,

Grasp the worn wood banister

And climb the stairs

To the long silent dimness between bedrooms,

Peer into their darkness.

It’s bad mojo

To lose one’s shadow

And no one ever saw their shadow

In that dark house.

I wish I could have taken Pepper in there.

Dogs know.

For forty years 

Nightmares of that house

Lacerated my sleep.

Recently it was burnt to the ground,

Training for firemen.

A new thought came writing this.

All my life I suffered dreams

Of demons,

Demons possessing me.

They ceased as well.

Perhaps my peace lies in

Those ashes.

Reviews

[---]

Ah, this is brilliant - this central stanza, especially so:

It’s bad mojo
To lose one’s shadow
And no one ever saw their shadow
In that dark house.

My sympathies, regarding the demons - I hope they stay buried for you. None the less, credit where it's due, writing like this is immaculate.

Deepest thanks for sharing.

- Ook

[Michael Sun Bear]

Thank you Ook. I am happy this poem is still being read, and I appreciate your kind words. MSB

[Amanda Renee]

I love this for numerous reasons, the storytelling aspect and the questions it leaves- like the symbolism of holding on to something and what happens when you let it go. Also, what happens to the energy or matter when something is changed. I also loved how you stated that "Dogs know". It added to the storytelling aspect and relatability, as I have met a few dogs over time that do. Thank you for sharing this.

[Michael Sun Bear]

Thank you Amanda. Patricia and I conversed over her poem An Empty Stomach, and she inspired me to write about this house. I am glad you like it.MSB

[Patricia]

OMG! You wrote it!!!!! It is cathartic, is it not? The ending is the last of it, let those old demons go, they are back to hell where they belong. For those nay sayers, I hope in your life you can always be a nay sayer. this is not something I want anyone to experience. I still live with memories of the negative ones but not necessarily haunted by them. Fortunately there were more good memories vs bad. But my house now has a ghost or two, they just co-exist, pretty quiet for the most part except for the occasional showing or movement across the rooms.I just laugh it off and say out loud, "being rude" and it all goes quiet again. Considerate of them. Being home alone all day can be trying during a storm though.
Terrific writing! Love it.

[Michael Sun Bear]

Thanks for reading and your comments. And most of all, thanks for inspiring me to write about the house. I had finally stopped thinking about it, but you reminded me, and that was ok, really. I also lost the physical representations of some good memories. All the barns, workshops, milking parlor are all gone now too. One barn originally housed the work horses and the second floor was a hay loft. As kids, the horses were gone, but we loved playing in the hay loft building forts and tunnels, camping out up there, playing cards.