Clean out the house
Clean out the house - Richard Berengarten
Clean out the house
Clean out the house for springtime. Sweep the floor
in patience and in conscientiousness.
Let in the wind that’s hammering at the door.
Who knows, some day we’ll hammer out a cure
for cruelty, corruption, cowardice,
clean out the house for springtime, sweep the floor.
Create a pattern, not caricature
of natural justice, without prejudice,
let in the wind that’s hammering at the door.
But human suffering? Don’t be so sure.
In practice every theory goes amiss.
Clean out the house for springtime. Sweep the floor.
We go the way the flies go. Dust, manure
or ashes will be all that’s left of us.
Let in the wind that’s hammering at the door.
We can trust nothing, nowhere rest secure
except in love, for love is limitless.
Clean out the house for springtime. Sweep the floor.
Let in the wind that’s hammering at the door.
from The Blue Butterfly (Salt, 2006 / Shearsman, 2011), © Richard Berengarten 2006, used by permission of the author.