when walls have been erected but windows not yet hung
and they stare vacant like sockets
when doorways open up the space
without the option of being closed yawning out
when ceilings gape open
and skeleton stairs imply their destiny
when walls echo the absent paintings
dulled in shades of sinking greys
when floors appear expanded
made vast by the shadows of the missing carpets
when the space is emptied of all the things
but of every feeling
when spirit is sealed so deeply it may ever stay withdrawn
when hearts are too scarred to feel
when the way
though just before you
lies still invisible
2/15/95