Tuesday, July 18, 2006

Floor Committment

Yesterday we bought a floor
to put over the plywood
separating our stories.

A floor means we're almost home.
It means a next chapter.

Then we met with the guy at Lumber Liquidators.

We pulled out the birch planks
that had been chosen--
researched by
pricecolorsize
laid it on the counter
a perfect hand.

Ya really gotta baby your floor Mr. Helpful intoned
Ya can't just put any old cleaner on there
No cheap wood polish
No pets
No heavy traffic
Ya should clean it 'bout once a day

Seriously? Clean the floor once a day?
Does anyone do that?

Did you clean those samples today, my husband smiled

Oh, not today he replied

It made me wonder about all the houses and houses
with wood on the floor
resting there
year after year
while feet march
through birthdays and
Christmas mornings,
evenings of sorrow
and snow tracked in
on a winter afternoon.

A dent, a scrape
a history of life lived.
A floor sees it all.
Supports the everyday.

So we're taking the plunge
starting our house story
laying down birch
crossing our fingers.

(We bought the special cleaner.)

6 Comments:

Blogger Kathleen said...

i love thinking of you and todd starting with new floors and etching your history, together, into them.
my heart is happy for you, girl.

11:26 PM  
Blogger AscenderRisesAbove said...

interesting to see so many poems dedicated to interiors and then the photos of the improvements in the apartment. it is great how our energy surrounds us in this way.

1:15 AM  
Blogger Kay Cooke said...

A floor is so faithful - I'm sure a few marks will only add character! Certainly DON"T clean it every day - my word!!

3:02 AM  
Blogger mareymercy said...

I'm curious - how long is it between the time you write something and the time you post it? I ask because you were just talking about buying flooring about a week ago...do you write a new poem every day? (If so, I'm jealous.)

8:13 AM  
Blogger Emily said...

Hi Twitches, actually, the blog writing is pretty much done in the moment...I should probably spend a bit more time revising...but it does keep me writing more!

9:57 AM  
Blogger angela said...

we have wood, fir actually. it is soft, and shows Every mark, we love it. i don't use cleaner every day. with two littles and a dog - it still looks good, it looks like it's had a life.
enjoy your new place :)

1:31 PM  

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