Whitewashed

The cracks are painted over,
hiding the damage
from years of neglect.
They should have repaired it
long ago.
Instead, they left it to rot.
Decaying in the humid air,
leaving only a shell of its former self.
A mere shadow of what it once was.
Strong.
Powerful.
Resolute.
Now… it’s nothing!
Dust particles,
left in a pile on the sill.
Why didn’t you fix it?
I wonder.
Was the time you spent ignoring the growing problem
worth the inevitable degradation?
The diluted white paint does nothing to hide what’s been ignored.
No…
rather it draws attention to the destruction of the whole.
Through the whitewash the intractable gloom swells.

©2021 Brooke Lee