Hidden
Back off the road,
behind my grandparents’ house
It stood…
The Grainery
Half stable,
Half barn
Housing feed and grain,
hay and salt lick,
and a truly handsome blond horse
A place for discovering abandoned kittens,
Hiding in the hay loft,
Brushing a horse,
A sanctuary for a young child
who knew way more than she should…
A place to laugh,
A place to cry,
A place to scream
or just be still
A country castle for a little girl
My childhood secrets
were left on bales of hay
My teenage dreams,
spoken to the leaning walls
It understood me, this place
Surrounded by trees
and meadows of green,
Gardens exploding with
vegetables and fruits
It stood, proud and useful
In time
The horse was sold,
The children grew up,
and the adults moved on…
one way or another
As years went by
boards rotted, nails rusted,
stray animals feasted
on the remaining feed and grain,
and it sighed a knowing sigh
The day came when
it was reduced to rubble
Men with machines
first toppled it over,
then set fire to its remains
The grainery was no more
Only ash and occasional nails
filled the space
and I wondered
what became of my secrets, my dreams
Did they rise to the heavens
in the smoke?
Or did they sink into the ground
with the ash?
Or did they possibly… just disappear?
Oh, how I pray they didn’t disappear…
many years of my life were spent creating them…
May 13, 2023
Tori Dreamer 