Little House

That little house

Was it always empty, unoccupied?

the broken walls un-mended

trees outgrowing walls and seeping inside,

like a no man’s land

How the thunder and fierce rains fell its sheds and

the dripping water collected in left-out corners

and self-made pits

At the sun’s rising, the cows approaching

and waiting to feed on stale breads

.

Was this little house always empty, unoccupied?

Or were there happy, smiling men with neck-long hair

Women with headscarves, tired from the day but not life

Who rose before the sun to hide the day’s start-offs

and then picked up designated responsibilities

the girls fetching water and mothers cleaning and cooking

the men off to the farms, and then

all of them together at daytime for a hearty meal

and a relaxing noon-sleep!

.

Was that little house always empty, unoccupied?

or were there women who smiled at every passer-by

with curious eyes, to know their story

and mingle with creatures just like them

to share laughter and shed worries

and maybe not empty the house and leave unanswered queries

.

Was that little house always empty, unoccupied?

or was it full of untold stories?

.

Image Credit: Self

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22 responses to “Little House”

  1. Wow..pure emotions stirred up.. more knowledge..more luggage..more burden.. we lost the real happiness and relaxing time in the name of development.. we’re always running..

    1. So well said Balakarthi 😀💚 thanks for reading 💚

  2. Wow… So many memories stirred up… Lovely piece Nitika… 💚💚💚
    Aptly said Bala…

    1. Thanks Kirti 💚💚
      Glad it resonated with you 😀

  3. Old ,abandoned houses always haunt me. Beautiful

    1. Thankyou Mam
      Glad it resonated with you 😀💚

  4. So many emotions in one piece! Lovely read, Nitika!

    1. Thankyou Pooja
      Glad you liked 😀💚

  5. Really brought up many memories of houses alive with sounds and then slowly dying. Your poem reminded me of AK Ramanujan’s folktales: he speaks of human tendency to weave stories, the word he uses is autotellic.

    1. Thankyou so much Mumtaz
      And double Thankyou for teaching me something new everytime! Your comments are full of insights 💚💚

  6. Exaxtly what i think when i see old vacant houses. Beautiful.

    1. True Mam! Vacant houses give way to so many questions and emotions.

  7. This is such a magnificent piece Nitika. You’ve captured a variety of feelings in one frame. 💚Lovely girl. Sorry for reading it late… This is the only time I get for myself😪😪

    1. Thanks a lot Sonali 💚💚 so glad you liked 😀😀 and no sorry pls, you read it in your busy schedule that in itself is a gift for me 😃💚

  8. Very well crafted Nitika💚💚💚

    1. Thankyou Indrani 💚💚

  9. It’s so beautiful. So many emotions expressed so beautifully. Loved it. ❤️

    1. Thank you for reading Aarti 💚💚

  10. Such a beautiful poem.
    I also feel that houses are like museums. Whenever I have lived in rented houses, I have wondered about the previous owners and their lives.
    Loved your poem.

    1. Thanks a lot Moonmoon 💚💚
      So glad you could relate ☺️

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