Gas, Heat & Water Included
For Eben
Life is where you live.
Home is where you are.
Worth only what you give,
Known only from afar.
My life is pretty small,
Though I like to say “concise.”
But I guess I have it all,
and I must admit it’s nice.
It has a lot of windows;
a good view of all I see.
The ceilings have a star’s glow,
though it never rains on me.
The shelves hold all my thoughts
and loves that I once had,
but the memories they bought
never seem to make me sad.
The table in the kitchen
is where we share our minds.
The bathtub is for swimming
whenever we have time.
Somewhere in the hall
is where we leave our jokes,
though silent through it all
on little paper notes.
Life is where you live it
and mine has lots of stairs,
free from all the bullshit
built up through the years.
And when I’m feeling lonely
at the end of a long day,
Happiness will greet me
and always want to play.
Barbie Dockstader Angell
2009-present
Did you add the illustration? It has a Lord of the Rings ring about it! :)
ReplyDeleteHi Dominic: The illustration is also by Barbie--it's titled "Hobbit House," so you are correct! The drawings with her poems are always her own work.
ReplyDeleteThanks. I'd just worked it out! I've been over to her site - and had a look at the previous BDA poems you've posted.
ReplyDeleteHi Dominic: I love what Barbie does!
ReplyDeletedominic, there was a house we used to drive past when i was a kid & the roof was covered in grass. it backed up to a hill & the lady's goat would go on the roof & eat. i drew the picture based on that & once i started i realized it looked like a hobbit house. :) i hope your recognition of that means that i did it well. :) thanks for checking out my work.
ReplyDeletejohn, thank you. :) i love what you do too....and not just the posting my work on your site part.
Thanks, Barbie--you're a good friend :)
ReplyDeleteThanks John for hosting Barbie...you're a doll.
ReplyDeleteBarbie, love this poem. I may have to make a print of this one for my bare walls...and then I would owe you some sort of commission, wouldn't I?
:) you are too.
ReplyDeleteKaren: Why thank you! It's a total delight to me to host Barbie's poetry & art, & it's just a wonderful thing for the blog in general!
ReplyDeleteoops, the "you are too" was for john earlier. :)
ReplyDeletekaren, thank you, that's an incredibly lovely compliment. as long as you make sure to put my name on it as the author, i'll waive any commission....i'm rather pricey anyway. :) seriously, i'd be honored to have my work on your wall. i'd love a photo of it if you do.
Barbie: One of the perils of comment moderation :)
ReplyDeleteno worries john. :)
ReplyDeleteHi! I love your blog. It's got a little bit of everything! I have a blog about music, rhapsodiesinpink.blogspot.com, and I'd love if you could check it out and tell me what you think! Thanks!
ReplyDeleteHi Aria: Thanks, so glad you enjoy the blog! I'll have a look at yours.
ReplyDeleteA beautiful and wise poem. My favorite part:
ReplyDeleteSomewhere in the hall
is where we leave our jokes,
though silent through it all
on little paper notes.
hkatz, thank you. :) this piece is about an actual one-bedroom apartment that i shared with two other people and my dog, known as "happiness" in this piece. we called it "the bathtub" and there's a long story behind that name. i wrote another poem about it called "in the bathtub with a dollar" & was commissioned to spray paint it on a wall behind someone's house. :)
ReplyDeleteHi HKatz: I agree--beautiful & wise! Thanks for stopping by!
ReplyDelete