House of Cards

Two years after my wife and I went our separate ways I had to come to terms with my part in the demise of my family and household. I sat and wrote "House of Cards" to myself. I had to see in black and white what I had done in order to understand and learn from it.

Here is my poem:

House of Cards

I built my house
and shuffled,
from the bottom of the deck.

It was not if,
more like when,
that it became a wreck.

I blamed everyone
but myself
for what was in my hand.

Nothing remained
when it came down,
my house was built on sand.

A mirror hanging
in front of me
was where I had to look.

I did not follow
“to thine own self be true”
integrity was forsook.

With pain the mirror
had to become
a window to see thru.

To free me
of my selfishness,
this I had to do.

The world outside
I stood and tried
to look but could not see.

That the world
outside my house
does not revolve ‘round me.

Foundations last much longer
not made
from sand and lime.

They must be built
on bedrock,
to stand the test of time.

Copyright © 2008 Ronald J. Edwards