David Chandler
Update
Dear Claire and Eva,
Yesterday I was driving back from the South on I-55; so I got off the expressway to see your grandparents’ old home. A few more houses line the lake, and your paddleboat was gone, but the dock you dove from is still in place. Although the new owners covered the house with garish siding, they left the structure intact. Since no one was home, I peered in through the windows and saw your sleeping loft and the fireplace looking just as always. They trashed Grandmother’s wildflower garden but left Grandad’s greenhouse alone. The small statue of the girl pouring water into a birdbath is moved from the back garden to the lawn just below the front porch.
Pics attached.
Love,
Dad
your house
of recollections
draped in new clothes
to shelter
childhood dreams
About the Author
For years, Dave Chandler has enjoyed reading poetry based on Japanese models. Since his recent retirement from managing social service and economic development programs, he has made writing poetry an avocation. His writing travels with him and his wife, Mary, between the Pilsen neighborhood of Chicago and the Driftless region of Wisconsin.