The Old House On The Corner Lot Poem by Jim Yerman

Deborah and I take a walk in the morning, sharing memories and dreams along the way
We have found in our lifetime together it’s a great way to start a new day.

We’ve been walking together for years...we’ve seen the neighborhood ebb and flow.
We’ve watched houses change their colors and families come and go.

Lately as we’ve been walking we find ourselves a little distraught
When, early on our walk, we pass a beautiful old house that sits on a corner lot.

Years ago on a huge flatbed truck this house was moved from another part of town
It was decided to bring her to this corner lot instead of tearing her down.

For a few years the house was filled with joy and laughter, that is until the day
The family that moved her onto this lot for some reason moved away.

Since then the house has been vacant, we’ve watched the foundation crack
Perhaps when she realized the family who once lived in her is never coming back.

With no one to care, our walk past this house has become a bit surreal.
Her front porch is rotting, there are weeds in the yard and her paint is beginning to peel.

We greet that old house every morning, occasionally in her windows we’ll peek
As we climb her decaying front porch steps, she tries not to, but we hear her creak.

There’s a hole in the ceiling and mold on the walls of this house we’ve come to adore
And as if to add insult to injury there are plants growing up through the floor.

But she tries to stands tall, as the mold and plants grow, struggling to look dignified
After all even when we’re old and a little run down we still have our sense of pride.

We hope someone comes to her rescue before she experiences any more pain
For it appears there is still time to rebuild her before she tumbles under the strain.

If we had the money we’d buy this old house, oh how I hope some family does
A family who will kindly restore her to the lovely old house she once was.

One day soon we’d like to see her become a home again...some new family’s Camelot.
That’s a dream we share as we walk every morning by this old house on the corner lot.