Poem: Painting the House

Sitting at my computer, through the window, I watch the worker repair and paint my front porch.

He replaces a broken spindle, caulks the cracks, and applies the fresh paint with long, deft strokes. There’s nothing more encouraging than a newly-painted white house.

I used to do the painting myself. Too old now for that, climbing ladders forbidden.

I turn now to self-restoration, a bigger job than painting a house. Regret peels away the hope, makes cracks in the soul.

A friend recently told me, “Guilt is pointless. You can’t change what’s done, and it prevents you from living in the present.”

I’m trying. Repairing and painting.

Robert Hamblin is an emeritus professor of English at Southeast Missouri State University, where he taught for 50 years and served as the founding director of the school's Center for Faulkner Studies. He is the author or editor of nearly 60 books, including poetry, fiction, literary criticism, biographies and memoirs.