The Builder: A Poem For Larry—By PJ

Young Larry (watercolor, manipulated at Photomosh.com) by Kelly Eddington, 2019. From U2niversity.

The Builder: A Poem For Larry

PJ DeGenaro

The Builder

A poem for Larry Mullen, Jr. on his birthday, with a nod to Robert Frost.

The man who built this house was a silent type 

Straight of spine and firm of jaw

He stood foursquare in the bare autumn field

And saw scattered bluestones lock into foundation,

Saw red oak, pine and cedar rise in joist, stud and beam.

Eyes narrowed in the low October sun

He saw how the roof would pitch 

To let the snow slide down

And underneath:

A room for boozy talk, good bread, rich soup

A room for private murmurs, touch, sleep

A room for chests of toys, pajamas with feet

A room to curl around the hunch of grief.

The man who built this house had muscle, tendon, bone

Made to last through war and hard weather.

He figured this would be his home

And whenever he had to go there

They would have to take him in.