We built this house with held hands
Gently nailing the boards
Between longing latitudes
We knew the plan
A naive permanence

But soon we realized the rains would come
a reticent river
Of forced smiles and quiet regrets

And soon the surging water washed away
All that was worth saving
the musty moldy residue
Of cracked boards and rusted steel
was all that’s left behind
In this house that stands now only
To prove a point

We have spent the day quietly removing
In saturated solitude
And dripping desperation
The remnants of the storm
staying on opposite ends
Agreeing to meet in the middle
But each really drifting away

We now sit

Sweating, aching
Staring at the framework
Of a forgotten room
Drop cords running through windows
Like electrodes on a fading patient
Exhausted at the thought
Of starting over


A long breathless silence

Our eyes meet

A familiar stare
And you say
“Let’s get back to work”
I pause then slowly nod


And we rise and start again
Tearing out the last familiar pieces
Of the skeletal remains

a single tear joins the flooded floor
As i hold a board for you once again
hands joined to complete the task
Only this time
We hold a little tighter
Now knowing that nails
Like love
Can always fail