Holmes' Skillet

Momentary Eternity

Warm velveteen folds, colds, coals and Christmas Trees

Heavenly snow billows release their coats in throws of sheeny sheets

The fire's finite flames flicker

In this moment lasts forever

When my soul feels frozen, familiarity fills the hole

With fertile soil for fervent growth

Sown with just one seed:

Home.

That present, everlasting gift

Wrapping around packages

I can't forget such bold emotions

Both good and bad in acquiescence

So ignorant of my own innocence as a little kid

Bobbling in mommy's water tread

Swimming in simplistic bliss

Independence imminent

What once was home is now a sinking ship

In breaststrokes I seek the shore to settle

Seed nestled through severance

Hope.

All blossomed roads live there in here:

Heart employing joy and sadness

My brain to think and process meaning

Marching feet to keep the traction

Home is like a rogue distraction

That my focus can relax in

Home is like a folded napkin

A welcome mat and cozy mattress

Home's a giant pile of laundry

All disorganized and daunting

Home's a couch covered in saltines

Pillow stains and squeaky box springs

Yo...

Autumn leaves, rakes, reeking air

Peach cobbler and choc-eclairs

Plucked pumpkins, succulent sweets

Muffins, stuffing, stomach screams!

Corn mazes and errant nights

Rare, exciting, improvised

Scared-of-heights to daring teen cliff-diving in drunk misguidance

Water parks and roller coaster rides

Sun-bathing, laugh-laden slides

Hot cocoa and lullabies

Father's fury, mother's lies

Sibling rivalries, TV remotes

Silly fights and evening strolls

Home.

A fort retained, exchanged for credit and cash

Labor away to save a space to crash

Meditative oasis, or, perhaps

Stressful situations waiting to happen

Game, set, and match

A war in wages

Wading in waves of debt like stray cats

Pay-the-rent vocations

Passionate ways to train the place mat

Pride.

Hard-earned headquarters

Parents or wary wardens?

Homework finished on a Friday afternoon

Time to do things my way, captors, snooze!

Mischiefs sneaking out like stealthy tyrants past bedtime

In hand-me-downs, snaking up the highest sappy red pine

Breaking the rules carried an aura of mysterious intrigue

Authorities quick to inform there's no imperial reprieve

Youthful oysters with pearly smiles

The world at large a blue-green bouncy ball

Holding life in such regard

That home was just too hard to miss

As long as it felt right, nothing was left behind

Except the time and location of an otherwise quite nameless

Home.

Home is like a mighty castle

Where I'm king and bade off battle

Home's a roof over my head

Home's my boots, hat, and saddle

Home's a lasso for the cattle

Rope 'em in from stormy shadows

Home's a tackle box and ammo

In the backwoods on a grass knoll

Home's a suitcase and a banjo

A rustic phone booth and a bad joke

Home's a mood ring on the mantle

Of a cool, spring-time Chateau

I seldom know how to define this

Environmental science assignment

Is it the slight of memory's bias?

The likes of symmetry and contrivance?

Home comes in shapes and sizes

From mingling to isolation

It's where I feel the most connected

Whether talkative or silent

As much as it remains in question

This blatant fact stays intact:

No matter where this road addresses

I know home is where I'm at.

It's a mindset manifest

Plans planted to fruition

Alarm clocks and fast showers

After-hour weekend minutes