Lives Lived In Them

What matters is not
The shine of the hardwoods
But the lives
Of the people
Who walk on them

Not the granite
Of the countertops
But the conversations
Over food
Prepared on them

Not the houses

But the lives
Lived in them

And this

Alone
Is why

Leaky roofs

Can still
Provide shelter

Crumbling houses

Can still
Be home