The Finished House

The Finished House

In the finished house a flame is brought to the hearth.  

Then a table, between door and window  

Where a stranger will eat before the men of the house.  

A bed is laid in a secret corner  

For the three agonies – love, birth, death –  

That are made beautiful with ceremony.  

The neighbours come with gifts –  

A set of cups, a calendar, some chairs.  

A fiddle is hung at the wall.  

A girl puts lucky salt in a dish.  

The cupboard will have its loaf and bottle, come winter.  

On the seventh morning 

One spills water of blessing over the threshold. 

                                                             George Mackay Brown