A smell of onions and butter
replaces the scent of fresh paint
and the noise of forks and plates
mixed with young excited voices
stifles the monotone buzzing of my refrigerator
The outside light no longer shines
through bare window glasses
summer sun is now filtered
by the light-orange shade of new curtains
I remove a plant (my first green acquisition)
to set three places on the table
and for the first time this new place
feels like home
Author notes
This is how it felt almost two years ago
Similar feeling I read here:
a poem written by Tara (ardentMarch)
http://allpoetry.com/poem/3103600
Comments
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beautiful~
Love this....
There is that old saying
There is no place like home....
I inherited my mom's house after she died...finally got the deed a few month's ago...tearing off wallpaper you name it..i know the house is mine tho it doesn't feel like it..been in this lil house for 10 yrs now and it sure feels like home to me...will hate to leave it..but need to move to save some money.......once i get the house fixed I know it will become more mine everyday it's just the thought of packing moving and fixing everything there that needs it and I am not able too..so having hubby and son do the walls.......and who knows what else they have tackled LOL
Loved this sis
Hug
Susan~~~
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I know that feeling... when a house finally feels like a home. This is so elegantly written. I could see the scene in my mind.
Criss -
There is a feeling of simplicity that shines in the freshness of this poem. How is it that our surrounds take on the essence of our senses or nonsenses? My place is full of clutter, nothing together, so I'm truly pulled to the clarity here. Time for a good mental and physical house sweeping. Thanks you for your light, Mari.
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Ah dear Karen, clutter is the main decoration here. Working full time and little more, leaves very little time to clean up. Today I did though, Tess isn't home and I didn't have to make dinner, was time to clean up and hide some of the clutter. Never open my closets, you might get a heart attack lol
Thanks beautiful Karen, your comments always bring me a smile
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I love the gentle homely feel of this work poet. I can smell the onions and butter and feel the ambiance. Excellent!
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Wonderful ambiance and images here, Mari...you make me want to move (well, there is a chance that I might, lolol). Loved the sense of warmth and renewal - lovely poetry.
Drukkies en soentjies vir jou!
~ Nicolette
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A pleasant piece conveying a warming message. A nice read. Thanks
Jim
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warm
'to set three places on the table'-this line spread a warm glow within -you have managed to arrange a very simple picture of domesticity into a very special feeling-a house turning into a home -loved it all
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If home is where your heart is then I'm sure it's a warm, wonderful to be no matter the season or the decor. Thanks for the invite to your home.
Sincerely,
Leo Long
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As usual, a complete picture in few words.. Thats become like your personal style: Give everything- the sights and feelings and leave a wise meaning without saying it or even hinting it..in fewest words possible. Its supposed to come with life and so even when you portray a moment- whether to do with 'life' or 'nature'.. theres wisdom for all...
Yes, I guess its "Mari-esque" as you call it
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Mi querida hija,
Apart from smelly onions that you mention in your poem
and noisy kids and buzzy fridge which make you feel at home,
I’m glad you got new curtains so the neighbours cannot peek
I wouldn’t mind to visit you, perhaps to stay a week
But a home for each new season wouldn’t suit me or my wife.
We’ve had this house for 40 years (that’s more than half our life!)
and we don’t want to leave it now for we’re quite happy here,
till we go to our long home. Who knows which season or which year?
I read Tara's poem too and I love them both (even non-rhyming!)
Applausos, mucho amor, abrazos y bezos, XXX el padre.
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you paint a wonderful ambiance & images here...I love new seasons coming into my home, too...you have captured a 'cozy & calm' mood beautifully..
happy that my poem inspired you, Mari...I had forgotten about that one...lol.
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I read this at 3sixty you are so beautiful in the picture
do hope it's still feeling the same as you did two years back beacuse scenes like this are so priceless and beautiful
Anna Lee
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Sights of loved ones, sounds of happiness, and acts of caring; fresh paint fades into familiar things that matter so much...this is so full of the idea of home... such meaning in these few lines...h
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Yummy! Onions
Reminds me of that day in the 'Ardennen' about two and a half years ago, when I put it in my head to do a nightly forest walk with a big bottle of Cointreau with coke lol.
I came back when the bottle was empty (Jovy was scared the crap out of himself because I made him believe I heard and saw weird things - LOL
), obviously drunk and after this huge fight with the keyhole of the door, I had this incredible hunger for an onion
I ate it for about 75% but then had enough - wanted to throw it into the bushes but since I got this fly in my eye, I smashed it right into Jovy's sister's car. The morning after, the onion was still glueing on it - that night it had been freezing and till this day, we can still see the traces of it
Anyway, that was so completely out of context
I really like how you made this feeling of being home very clear from the beginning, when you were talking to the senses of the reader
Wonderfully done!
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How important that aroma
of the onions and butter
to reach the senses,
to spell out h-o-m-e!
You have captured it
perfectly, the newness,
the settling in, life by Mari!
Aesthete
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Sounds (and smells) wonderful! This really captures that intangible feeling that makes a home your own.
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excellent~
And may your green plant thrive on sis....
Love this and all the imagery you have created in this wonderful poem..
Made me want to come sit on your sofa and watch the going ons there
Hugs n love
Your sis
Susan~~~
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"HHHHHHHHUUUUUUUUUMMMMMMMMM"
One great thing about this poem is that it's true. In a site full of poets who write hoping to elicit quick tears and sentiment s(yes, kitsch, though they'd be shocked if I were to suggest that to them) you almost always manage to find real emotion...and in this case, because it is real...but beyond that, you understand tone and sentiment, what is real, and what is chintz...or you are just lucky so far, lol.
No, you have that "ear" that the kitschy don't...and yes, a lot of poems, free verse or otherwise are mere false sentiment, wrapped up in an arrogant belief that they are somehow wise...horrible false arrogance and oddly indulgent of them...myopic...sorry, I have some issues today.
Anyway, this is life...this is life changing...this is life becoming living....this is Mari-esque.
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i like your first stanza a lot (and it's not just because i love onions), the smells come alive!
i enjoy how you moved from smells to sounds, replacing the empty voids with human vibrance. you've captured the feeling of "moving in" perfectly.
maybe it's because i'm moving this weekend, but this poem really appealed to me, good stuff!
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