The House We Almost Lived In
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free verse
Sometimes I drive by the house we almost lived in
and I wonder who lives there now.
It looks like they have little ones, too,
and their Christmas decorations are still up, as well.
I wonder how life would be different if home had settled
only a mile away from where it did,
if the course of everything would have been altered.
In my dreams, I return to a house I knew quite well —
a house with a layout and scent nearly identical
to the house we almost lived in.
If sleeping in that bedroom, would I have these dreams?
Sometimes I drive by the house we almost lived in
and I imagine the flowers I’d plant in the garden
or the colors I’d paint the kitchen and bathroom
or the lightbulbs I’d change in the living room.
Sometimes I drive by the house we almost lived in
and I long for a different life that is not so different
from the one I live,
and I wonder why,
I wonder why.
read more poetry about home.
