to the yellow house on oak spring court

to the yellow house on oak spring court

this is a “thank you” and “I’m so sorry”

thank you for

eight years of dreamy Carolina skies

pink lemonade and water balloons

running around soaked from Saturday sprinklers.

thank you yellow house for

a dining room table I hid under

a spot by the fireplace for watching movies and drinking cocoa.

thank you for the cherry tree on the front lawn

flowers tucked beside the front door

bleeding hearts, white and pink like

Valentine’s Day every day.

remember the first time we came back and visited?

it had been what? two years? or three

since the move. my heart ached like sickness

I missed you and I

wanted to see you

and I didn’t know what to expect. 

I thought maybe the new owners

painted the shutters

changed the curtains

or planted more flowers.

instead I saw mud and weeds

where once was green - now dirt and brown

the bleeding hearts, my favorites of all, long gone

rhododendron buds eaten by animals not kept away

I remember my heart dropped and I thought

“maybe they’re on vacation (though there were cars in the drive)

and when they come back

they’ll plant a beautiful garden

and the grass will be bright and wet with dew

and the house will shine like it did with us”

so I fell into my hope.

I visited again a year later but

no improvement, same

lack of tender loving care.

so I’m sorry

sorry they stripped you of your colors,

flowers, beauty

I’m sorry we left you like this,

in the hands of the undeserving.

I’m sorry.

- missing north carolina