Composed 5/21/13
Description: I am currently housesitting for a family as they move their son into an apartment out of state. Though I’ve been at this house many times before, it’s always strange to be at another’s house completely alone with the freedom to explore.
A stranger’s house
Is a castle to be explored
With secret staircases leading to
New rooms
Each one a mystery
Filled with items never seen
Knick-knacks in cabinets
Pictures on fireplaces
Strange food lining the pantry and
Unfamiliar shelves filled with unfamiliar books
Tell stories of an entire life lived
Without your influence
In a world of routine
Everything is new
The squish of a couch
The softness of toilet paper
The smell of bed sheets
The buttons on a remote control
Everything is an adventure
Hidden trashcans plead to be found
Showers are a riddle to be solved
And when the lights grow dim in the night
You are truly lost in the dark
No known notch in the wall
Or corner of a desk
Serves as protector
You are a victim to the demons
Of dark and imagination
Quests for light switches
Are a matter of life and death
And yet
A week of exploring the castle
Makes it shrink
Into the cottage you are used to
Scraps of Paper 