Architecture of Acceptance

The chairs never ask

Who plans to sit, they just expect

Backs of various widths, the heft

Of our life’s weariness.

Walls embrace shadows and laughter alike,

The key turns in the lock with a whisper:

Here you may enter with your burdens,

Here, the floor knows the trudge of your feet.

In the tender conspiracy of the hearth,

Each room conspires to cradle your sighs,

The windows, even when dark, frame

Your every dance of solitude.

What blueprint of kindness draws

A residence for one’s own soul?

Brick by brick, I lay down the rooms

Where no knock is needed, no excuse.

In the architecture of acceptance,

We are both the door and the threshold,

Our own generous hosts, ready to pour

Another glass of silence or solace.