How to Read a Poem

For my students

Walk up the flagstone path (don't hesitate);

the owner welcomes every passerby.

Notice the shutters on the second floor

and how gray shingles meet the roof's black slate.

Go to the yard, where the maple rises high

above the weathered deck.  Choose any door

to enter (they're all unlocked), then look around.

Wander from room to room till you have found

the owner's signature—perhaps the dried

hydrangea cluster or the seashells near it.

Play with the jigsaw puzzle to decide

where pieces fit (the owner loves to share it).

Enjoy the music that the walls provide,

and come again at any time to hear it.

Carolyn Raphael

From The Most Beautiful Room in the World : Poems by
Carolyn Raphael, David Robert Books, © 2010 by WordTech
Imprint, Cincinnati, Ohio.