This house was built brick by brick,
Hand by hand, with sweat and perspiration.
What was this structure like those years ago
When it was erected as someone else’s home?
How did it withstand all this time
Protecting other families I will never know?
What secrets does it hide
Within the cracks in these walls
Time has not yet knocked down?
These wooden beams pull together an empty frame.
But that frame has been filled with others’ stories —
Others’ hopes, dreams, and lives–
Since the pouring of this house foundation.
We human beings are transient.
We hold this earth for such short times.
Let us not forget the souls of the past,
The love and memories that fill
The homes we now pray will last.
–Written by Sandy Heights