Voodoo House

I must confront a kaleidoscope waterfall of multicolored scenes

nostalgic memories that insult the pragmatic and dare a reckoning

a reluctant meander along a familiar gravel and dusty country road

lures me finally to a fated rendezvous with an unforgiving past

looming ahead, custom carved from the sweat of neighboring tradesmen, sandstone and wood, it taunts me

isolated and deserted on a landscaped rolling hill of green lawn home to an ancient apple tree where the drama of life stands still

warped memories glare at me through accusingly majestic empty windows bare now of faces that used to be family

one of them is me

digging scratchy nests in barn hay, riding wild ponies bareback through rocky, tangled woods and jeep tracked fields

diving into weedy, cold wind whipped lakes, the calm before the storm

fast forward to the night and a rebellious teenager slips quietly out the bedroom window, amorous and free

while sibling rivalry erupts into tense emotional rage with the only one who oddly thrives in this midst

I search within, seeking solace in friendships with the ghosts who haunt me

my grandfather's disturbed dead arises from the grave to send the key to buried treasure in my dreams

an unknown soldier, teenage American victim of war, his body forever lost in the obscurity of the dense Vietnam jungle, smiles and offers up his love as a final token of sacrifice to the dreamer who craves it

big brother, misunderstood and tragically ignored, turns his back and walks away into oblivion

sister makes a broken date with death on horseback and a frantic trip to save her life evolves to seizures on the floor

she twitches bravely, her head shaved and stitched, hopeful to overcome and become an inspiration

Father ponders his fate, a political victim, his land stolen, a fortune lost

confident, challenged but not yet defeated in court, he battles the karma from a lifetime he cannot remember

Sweet Mother hides the pain and dreams of summer nights in the cabin on Slide Lake

Heaven at home with morning mist drifting across the water, spectacular red and yellow sunsets, sunfish flopping on the dock and crackling fires under the hiss of propane lights

Voodoo House, built on the ashes of a farmhouse that burned, innocently inherited the tragedy

now destiny propels me through the doorway, poised on the border between Heaven and Hell, to make friends with angels and demons

parting the invisible curtains with fear and fascination, I step inside.