there is an attic in
this old house,
the stairway that led to it
has been removed
its only access a small hideaway stepladder
they decided not to remodel it
with the rest of the house
the old iron radiators still remain
though the doors have been removed
from every room
there is no carpet up here and
the warped floor noisily creaks
downstairs all is smooth and quiet
save the dull humming of the fan
you can see the oak beams of the old frame
where the floor has been cut away
and two bannister posts stand at the top
of a non-existent stair
plywood lies across the old floorboards
to hide the gaping hole.

the windows still open
but the light switch turns on
darkness
and a huge metal monster stretches its arms
through all the doorways to ventilate the new
rooms below
the space that's left is used for storage
its darkness is disturbed only by the
occasional headlights of a car
and its silence by the newly welcomed
family of squirrels.

Bonney Castle
Beverly Faust '93

I love the quaint and cozy room
where Pammy studies Lit.
And often, when I visit,
long to pause awhile and sit.

If I should steal inside one day
and softly take a chair,
I'm sure it would not take me long
to feel Jane Austen there.