25th April

The Blue House, Inshegra

Detail from the Blue House, Inshegra

The Blue House

This unhappy, silent house

is uninhabited now

but maybe people lived here once.

Multiple hues of fading blue

paint flaking like dead skin

from standing in the sun too long

or being repeatedly soaked then dried

by the harsh Atlantic rains.

Windows blocked to discourage prying eyes.

Frames cracking like so much splintered flotsam.

A red eyeliner suggests that this old lady

still harbours hopes of a suitor.

Long grass in front like a shock of unkempt hair

and, of course, at centre stage

a portal of oceanic hue

with a lipstick doorknob.

All friends are now long gone, and this house 

is reduced to a glorified tool shed

or so I suspect