Hearth & Home

Once there was a little girl,

Who went searching for a home.

She found her first under a stone,

And all was perfectly easy.

Until the mud touched her heart,

And she left to go a-wandering.

Now the child stood wondering,

Can cardboard be home to a girl?

So she made a box into a home,

For safety blocked the door with stones.

Determined not to be too easy,

She guarded the house of her heart.

House weaker than her heart,

Goat’s overcame, she went wondering.

Looking for a place that needs a girl.

Maybe work could become a home,

Or even a place to lay a hearthstone.

Straightforward equation—easy.

It was easy, but not so easy.

The work: to muscle, mind, and heart—

Used, used up, left to wander.

Is there a market for an aging girl?

Someone sent her to a half-way home,

Doors shut with rules written in stone.

An ounce of flesh for a stone?

Going once—quick and easy.

Forget the house, forget the heart,

Concrete shoes not made to wander.

Tied to the half-breath of a girl,

Who wilted and worked for a home.

One home, impossibly easy—

Just one chance to rest the heart.

Give up, embrace the wonder,

Leave the woman for a curious girl.

The one’s that ask questions come home.

The home of water-washed stones.

There once was an easy girl,

Who opened her heart to wander.

And found a stone for her heart.