Rise And Fall (Poetry)

We built the house together
we made it — you and me
of fancy stones and flowers
and we called it harmony

We fashioned every window
and painted each blue door
we carpeted the street outside
to go with our decor

It seemed a perfect dwelling
the environment was cool
and the picture we were selling
was a pastel April Fool

But the war came to our garden
so we bombed the neighbour’s shed
when our daughter ran off crying
thinking we were good as dead

Now we live here in the ruins
getting older — you and me
picking words out of the rubble
and we call it poetry