Home for sale

I've been like an old house in need of retrofit

once my hallways and bedrooms were filled with

playful childhood laughter, tea with friends

and witty conversations

Now the toys are piled into irregular stacks of boxes

in the garage along with the camping gear,

art supplies and excess tools

***

The tea sets remain in the cupboards, untouched

The board games, books, and puzzles on display

are a snapshot of untapped potential

A black piano sits upright with no player

and the viola glares back from its sealed case

The house is full of things,

cluttered and spilling over, like my laundry

hampers despite the machines running daily

***

yet there is a vacantness

of substance and connection

a tension

in the space between one TV show and the next todo

a palpable layer of muted emotional dust

that sits uncomfortably wedged in the corners

and cracks

no amount of sweeping can clear it out

***

I'm in need of an overhaul

send in the realtor and the remodeler

clear away the clutter and the stagnation

tack a 'for sale' sign to my front yard

and let the stager do their work

push me out of this melancholy, rotting comfort

and dare me to move