Art & Poetry: Through the Screen Door
Through the screen door begins
endless hours spent dreaming and swinging,
always believing I could touch the sky.
Through the screen door abides
magical memories of evenings spent
on the back porch watching the storms roll in.
Through the screen door is the path
to the big, ol’ tree that sheltered my pretend world
and guards the secrets that linger there, still.
Through the screen door bellows
my father’s can-be-heard-for-miles whistle
calling my sister and me home for dinner.
Through the screen door glows
the home-light of my mother’s kitchen;
an oasis amidst the twilight.
Through the screen door drifts
the distant laughter-echoes
from our neighborhood kids playing in our world.
Through the screen door are the steps
that led me away from this childhood home,
onto a life grown from the stories lived
while coming and going
through the screen door.
Originally published at https://www.stoefflerartstudio.com on March 31, 2021.