looming up starkly
and bulging out against
the surrounding vegetation
on a small, raised lot downtown
in full sun it seems rather cheerful
this house, for all its want of attention
the details once lavished on a house
in times gone by and the more recent care
of bright yellow trim offer balance
to the rusting roof
and the peeling paint
and the disheveled hedge
a large, elegant, simple house
while wanting a little room to breathe
seems still to be fully self-possessed
confident of its place
and rooted in the ground