My House Breathes

My house holds tight 
as the tides of my children
surge in and out

swamping   
 then stranding me 
among tiny bits of paper 
cut up on the floor
cold cups of tea
dirty clothes 
cascading 
     down 
       the 
          stairs
whorls of dog hair 
wafting in the door draft

my house breathes 
hello and goodbye
come back
stay away 

to babies metamorphosing 
into unknowable adults 
faintly familiar 
in their laughter and eating habits

all this   
flowing in and out  
routine and random
 my house sighs and sings

soaks the erratic ebb and flow 
the fluidity of childhood

while visiting currents 
 swirl warmly around us
leaving salt water memories
 like white dust

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