White house

four square

bold black shutters

elm trees line the front walk

Whose house?

My house

See, there’s my name etched

on the sidewalk

my brother’s name is there, too

Big house

noisy house

four bedrooms upstairs

and one down

Voices

shouting

laughing

calling

filling

these rooms with sound

Warm house

safe house

sleeping in the bunk

below my sister

Mommy and Daddy across the hall

Old house

this house

with steps that creak

when I try to sneak

a midnight snack

Beloved house

my house

see those pencil marks

on the kitchen doorframe

that’s how tall I was

at three and five and nine

Marks that have probably been

erased

from the doorframe

of the kitchen

of this house

my house

The house that now belongs

to someone else