a home shared with renters

 

absence vs presence

two roads diverge within us: 

the glass half-full, or half-empty,

the optimistic view, or the pessimistic,

seeing the absence, or seeing the presence,

a family visits the mountain house we manage,

and a blistering e mail arrives to me soon after, 

some attention given to what worked for them,

far more attention given to what didn't,

criticisms of excessive dirt, of available opened boxes of cereal,

of how they would prefer far more compulsive presentation than we,

attacks on us for not being as a sterile hotel,

the absence of what they wanted

overwhelming the presence of the beauty outside the doors and windows,

the welcoming comfort of a home shared with renters,

the grounding of artifact and photo (of flower, mountain, wildlife)

the books of history, of the naturalist, of story,

the many board games and cards to play when the outside is wet,

the emailer feels the absence of what she wants

more than the presence of what she gets,

and she is thirstier than the half-full glass can satisfy,

we, however, do what we can about the absences

while we concentrate on all that can be present.

by Henry H. Walker

September 28, ‘24