Many Rooms

She understood
The many rooms in Father's house
Did not make a mansion
The many rooms were an omen.

Walking through the rooms 
Was a different journey each time
Different people, furnishings,
Books, memorabilia, all different.

At first she found the dreams unsettling
But over time she willed herself
To stay with the dreams
As if she were visiting someone.

She learned to walk slowly
To look at the pictures on the walls
The books on the shelves
And the trinkets on the tables.

She learned to pay attention 
To the people in the rooms
Most importantly to the person
Who wandered from room to room.

The house itself never varied, 
Only the things in the house changed.
They documented a life lived.
They told a story.

John had gone on ahead
To prepare a place
For the one who wandered.
And she was watching.