The Empty House

The house stands empty and still
With no sounds of laughter
Hopes of dreams or tears
Abandoned now for two plus years
Now stares back with hollow eyes
Now as the moon begins to rise
Do I hear voices from within...
Could it be ghosts or is it just the wind
The moaning of a battered heart
A broken soul unfilled

Foot steps echo in the empty hall
Scattered remnants lie on the floor
No smells from the oven or constant clatter
Gone are voices and children’s chatter
Fireplaces with bricks cold and stark
Never to witness a blaze or spark
No more visitors hang their coats in the hall
Or photographs of family hang on the wall

My brother had died and was lain to rest
His family had moved they thought it best
A home like a family needs love to survive
An empty house just molders and dies
The story you could tell is yours to tell
Standing here in your empty door
I dream your dreams of what has gone before.
In this house which my brother called home!
Beryl McMullen