They come,
Seeking answers
To scratch paper sketches;
Porches, playrooms
Pantries and problems;
Resultant conundrums of a material world.
Expecting-
High pressure tactics,
Pushy sales person
Running up tickets,
And, of course, technical expertise.
What they don’t expect,
Is a Home Depot holy man.
An orange apron-ed mystic,
Offering solutions to drywall dilemmas.
Who studies the cracks in foundations,
Listens to camouflage
overlying faint cries of despair.
And hears-
How do I build a stairway of sincerity?
Tall as a tower, shining steps rising
Above the crippling contrariness of my life?
What manner of steel is so stain-less,
To weather the corrosion of my debaucheries,
To anchor my heals in righteous construction,
So Heaven someday may be within reach?
What padding can be so resilient,
To keep disappointment from scorching my ass,
Dragged through the coals of work-a-day world?
Flat on my bum, one foot entangled,
Eternally caught in the crux
Of life’s bottom rung?
And
Where do I find the cheapest fix,
To patch this hole in my heart,
Out through which my humanity bleeds?
Welcome to the Depot, he replies.
Mirrors, aisle seven.
Poetry by SS Matthews
Zen and Xel Sha 
Scott, a stunning write. I didn’t expect it to take the turn it did. Truly magnificent the way you worked the words…. We are all seeking answers, aren’t we? And they always seem to come at a price. If only we could find what we needed in aisle seven!
If only we could, but the answers that we need, we already have, its the convincing ourselves that they are worth finding is the chore!
nice…love it when they are so helpful…i always hope to meet on of those show people that will just come do it for me you know…smiles…nice metaphor in this as well…if all lifes questions were so easy eh?
I did a two year stint and HD and had a blast with my customers, but was of course, always helpful!
Fresh, original – and I like the surprising twists. The ending made me smile!
A smile makes it most worth the effort! Thank you for taking time out to say so.
“Welcome to the Depot, he replies.
Mirrors, aisle seven. ”
profound ending…
Thanks TJ. That ending was the hardest part to put into words.
OMG!!!!!!!!!! This is freaking fantastic! “How do I build a stairway of sincerity?” and “the cheapest fix to patch this hole in my heart” – and then the mirror. Best thing I’ve read today and I have read a LOT of great poems today!!!!!! LOVED. IT.
Sherry, you’re gonna make me blush! Thank you so much and I am very pleased you enjoyed it!
This is so thoughtfully put that whatever I say is not going to do any justice to the poem. I enjoyed each word. Particularly:
“Where do I find the cheapest fix,
To patch this hole in my heart,
Out through which my humanity bleeds?
Welcome to the Depot, he replies.
Mirrors, aisle seven.”
Ha, delightful.:)
Thank you Anand, I was a good write, that I enjoyed also.
great write indeed. i can but echo the comments of the above (esp. Sherry!) I’m particularly taken with the last couple of stanzas. Great feel to them. Good work indeed!
Thank you for taking he time to comment c-wolf!
This is an excellent use of metaphor, and you write with an ear to how it all sounds!
Thanks Kerry, there’s no substitute for taking the time to listen to your work. and thanks for taking time to remark!
Awesome write, with more than a few grains of truth about the human condition, the human propensity to seek answers outside ourselves. Mirrors in aisle 7, I’ll go have a look… 😉
Thanks Ruth. Truth may vary day to day, but our propensity flourishes. Think I’ll go have another glance myself!