Forty-One

It’s big and white and smiles as you pass by
Where I said my first word
Where I lost my first tooth
Where I called home for most of my life
Happy memories burst from the windows
And sad ones are buried underground for us to try to forget
It’s where I learned to ride a bike
Where I ate cake birthday after birthday
And where I still have a longing to be
It will always be home
A first home
Wherever I may be
But when the door was locked
And car in motion
It frowned at me
Realizing the end had come
But now when I walk by
It winks
Remembering all the times we share
Before when the walls were mine.

By Maddie Roth