How does a building qualify,
A place earn its title,
Its keep?

Floors, walls, ceiling, roof
Tied with a ribbon of love.
Long days and night
Make it be, only than.

With every creak, in every cranny,
A child, a father, mom, or brother
Hides a secret, wishes a wish,
Buries a surprise
To unearth only when the magic
Song, heard with delicious joy,

Breaks out.

One day a cat wanders in,
Another, a bird hides a nest while
Eavesdropping on
A weed, believed to be flower.

It tests
The truth of its name.
Games are played,
A doll is rocked to sleep
In its cardboard box.

More and more moments
Create the possibility,
Till one day, fresh,
Brownies appear,
Their aroma captured,
Glassed under grandeur.

Without a doubt,
There is no doubt
It’s beyond doubt,
That this house is now a home.

Charlene James-Duguid
Amissville, Virginia