My House of Cards

A vast stretch of vacant land

Not virgin, but discarded,

Left to its sorry fate, uncared;

My little hutment I built on it,

With joy and care and abundant faith

Nurtured and tended as mine

To hold, to love, to own, to cherish:

Weeding the field a painstaking task

Brick by brick, step by step

My niche I secured

And in that heavenly space

My life gained richness

Of rich chocolate melting in mouth:

And then came breezes

Harsh and howling

Angry claws ripping

My walls and roof;

Inch by inch gaining ground

The Giant encroached-

First my fences

Then the rooms they claimed

My love space reduced

My home compromised

Nibbling at the edges

Like diligent mice

Working on tasty cheese

As I backed up step by wary step:

And then a deluge

A mighty pounding

That left me stranded

On open ground once more

Not a leaf to hide my broken soul.