Window of Opportunity

by Mark Cassidy

Hard to come by, hinges like these –

feel their thickness.

Chip out the layered years of clumsy paint,

leave them soak in easing oil.

With periodic gentle agitation,

from past into the present,

they’ll open fully once again.

The learning of new skills:

superannuated feet on rungs

are found and squarely planted.

Every joint and corner of every frame

is tested for integrity.

Each excavated face

gets hardened, sanded to a feather.

Slow work. Feel the difference

that sharpened tools can make,

if you take control of them.

Choosing age-long raw materials –

linseed, putty, turpentine –

entails more coats, extends their drying time,

but will unite, bind with the grain.

Neither acrylic nor silicone

can claim the same;

repair without petrochemicals

does – in the short-term – cost you more.

Yet rain always finds a route to rot.

When sills begin to flake, we should not take

our window light for granted.

Inspiration: We moved earlier in the year. The family’s new home was an old house, sound but needing some restoration. When faced with a choice about what to do with its rotting windows, we decided to repair rather than replace with new. Working alongside an artisan craftsman, I came to understand just how pervasive petrochemicals are in modern building methods. In this poem, I wanted to reflect the value not only of learning new skills, but also of using traditional, carbon-neutral materials, which confer greater longevity. A tiny contribution perhaps, but one worth taking longer to achieve.

Image by Rick Malm from Pixabay

Mark Cassidy is a retired radiographer from Portsmouth, where he lived and worked until recently. His poems have appeared in various European magazines and anthologies. They may also be found on-line at http://markbcassidy.blogspot.co.uk