what was.

this house
with yellow walls
and blue shutters
and a bouncy dog on the back of the couch

--- this house ---

is no longer mine.

but sometimes, it comes to me in dreams
when i'm sleeping
or awake
and i remember its rooms
and the life that such a little doggy
could bring to something often dismal.

and on those days,
in those moments --
my soul shrinks inside itself
and this hollow pain creeps back in
and then, the tears...
oh, the tears.