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Old Houses

We lived in many houses
throughout my childhood
'though some were worse than others
none of them were good

Some had moldy odors
that (at best) were most unpleasing
others had thick coats of dust
that left me coughing, wheezing 

One's floor had fallen out
another's ceiling had caved in
you can just imagine
the predicament we were in

We stewed through summer's swelter
shivered, shook through winter's chill
and every time it rained, we
emptied pots and pans that filled

You may wonder how we lived
in such a state, deprived
but it was 'normal' (all I knew)
and somehow I survived!

Copyright © Rhona Mcferran | Year Posted 2018

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Eve Roper Date: 9/17/2018 4:45:00 PM Rhona, enjoyed your write..A child doesn’t know any better except what they have been given, so no you wouldn’t know any better until someone points it out or you get older and see for yourself what is normal and what is not. Eve Login to Reply Rhona Mcferran Date: 9/17/2018 7:35:00 PM Exactly! Thanks for the comment! ;)

Michelle Faulkner Date: 9/15/2018 2:32:00 PM Hi Rhonda, this is a brave write, like the contrasting image of 'fallen out' floors and 'caved in' ceilings, I guess what is normal for you may not be the same for everyone- Login to Reply Rhona Mcferran Date: 9/15/2018 11:14:00 PM Thanks for the comment! Yes, "normal" is not always what we think it is...

Caren Krutsinger Date: 9/15/2018 1:16:00 PM This poem is honest, and true. "We stewed through summer's swelter shivered, shook through winter's chill and every time it rained, we emptied pots and pans that filled" reminds me of my childhood when I started poking a hole in the plaster, a bunch fell out, and pretty soon I had a big hole where you could see the slats. We had the pots and pans filling up too, just in a different season. Brr! My room was cold that winter, as I did not dare report on myself. Login to Reply Rhona Mcferran Date: 9/15/2018 11:13:00 PM Your hole-in-the-plaster story made me laugh... it reminded me of the time I saw a little curled corner of wallpaper and tugged on it- and a huge section came loose and flapped down! I panicked, tore it off and hid it (which somehow seemed logical in the heat of the moment)... but it did not go unnoticed. Worst spanking of my life!! ;D

Rhona Mcferran Date: 9/15/2018 7:37:00 AM As Frank McCourt once wrote: "When I look back on my childhood I wonder how I survived at all. It was, of course, a miserable childhood: the happy childhood is hardly worth your while..." lol! Login to Reply