Sunday, May 29, 2022

not by ourselves only

Just the two of us living here with few visitors

An inseparable duo content with only each other

And yet I feel the presence of so many others

Some known to me and some nameless


Everyone who worked on this house

Building it and then renovating it years ago

Left something of themselves behind

For us to appreciate during our time here


Every room contains items made somewhere

Fabricated by unseen people working for a living

Objects transported here by unidentified workers

Implicitly connecting us to all of them


So too the food we eat comes to us imbued with labor

Through many anonymous hands and bent backs

Delivered to the grocery store workers I recognize

Providing the sustenance making our lives possible


The work done on this house since we moved in

By capable people I talked to and remember

Their imprint is also on our home now

In my sense of things as I enjoy the space


All combined with what we brought with us

Family heirlooms and personal mementos

Linking us with the people in our particular past

Because we exist alongside all of humanity