POETRY: ‘Houses, as I pass by’

In celebration of National Poetry Month, WEHOville is publishing poems by local writers. ‘Houses, as I pass by’ is a poem by Carleton Cronin written while driving the thousands of miles traveling for business to every state in the 1960s. “Houses at night were always intriguing to me,” he said. “Beacons indicating presence in the darkness.”

‘Houses, as I pass by’ by Carleton Cronin

Something there is about
small white houses
clapboard neat, sharply
peaked with green
shingles to cover and
shield those within.
Something there is about
snow that gathers atop
or rain which washes
clean the daily grit
and char from industry’s
immodest belch.
Something there is about
the orange glow that
hidden lamps produce
behind the midnight window
panes to guide the eye
through the gloom of
roads at night.
Something there is about
a house alone in a quiet wood,
some old and familiar-
I know their feel, their aroma
their old patterned
wallpaper and creaky floors.
Something there is about
homes crowded with
chirping children soon put
to bed to dream
of days yet to come.
Something there is about
others’ houses where
I have never been –
where I send my mind
to peer in, an in imaginary
prowler passing by.

Carleton Cronin

Transcribed October 16, 2000