Hallways
Vibrant laughter whispers in my silent room,
Disembodied echoes of cheerful laughter
Pervade the still hallways.
The mansion is empty of its loving throngs,
Though their hot warmth continues tinting the air
Despite the still hallways.
Images press with faintness on my closed eyes,
Then burst. Those sweet expressions of love and joy
Draw me through the hallways.

They haunt me.
These ghostly memories of joyous times past
Smiling, dancing around my soul in faint whirls,
Like dreams. The still hallways
Rustle with their feet, and I stand and greet one,
Take it in my arms, squeeze it tight against me.
The shadowy hallways
Flee from my longing embrace, for I am merely
Hugging empty, stale, frowning air. Not a soul
Is in these still hallways.

Yearnings fill me
For those souls whose images here are conjured,
That smile without seeing and laugh without life
In these empty hallways.
Warm blankets and soft yellow lights enwrap me,
My parents clink dishes while watching loud T.V.,
And yet these still hallways,
These black ballrooms, dusty beds and swampy pools,
These wild dark green gardens and ivy-webbed walls,
These ever still hallways
Are dark and silent like a yellow sun-world
Suffering its first night. Wailings of sorrow
Shake the still hallways.

(Jesus listening can hear
The songs I cannot sing.)

Sound fills me.
Bits of soul, rising up with love and singing,
Lock their beautiful chords. Their eternal light,
Heaven and Earth in little space,
Lights the mansion as a palace.
And then, I feel them come back in,
And whisper to my longing soul,
“Though we’re gone, we never left you.”