There sit’s a crooked shack by the river
It is quite ramshackle, or in other words
So badly built and badly maintained
It is ready to fall down around your ears

So you ask, and quite rightly, so I might add
For there is no shame in asking questions
Who in the name of all that is just and holy
Would deign to live in a place such as this?

Could it be an old man, twisted and surly?
Spurned by his love when he was young
His heart turned stone cold and bitter
Withdrew himself from the human race

Or maybe a woman, couldst be a witch
Old and bent, black cat for her pet
There she brews her potions and herbs
And casts her spells if you should displease

There is always the possibility of an ogre
Not the nice type you see in cartoons
If you get too close might capture you quick
You will be on the menu for Sunday dinner

Closer I creep, too strong the need to find out
I cannot ignore this urge that I have
This truth is waiting to be uncovered
And I hope, with luck, I will be the one

There is singing I hear, a voice like an angel
Is this a trap to lure me in, like sirens of old
It matters not, the urge for truth is too strong
Onwards I go, too late to retreat, to turn back

And then I see her, a vision ever so lovely
In this situation she seems right out of place
A big sunny smile, so bright and lovely
With a wave of her hand she calls me in

I can’t help myself, the words just tumble
Out from my mouth like from a waterfall
Questions that in my head were buzzing
To my sheer embarrassment I put to her

She smiled a smile that could sink a ship
And have you coming begging for more
Before me she placed a drink cool and sweet
With a melodious voice she told me her tale

This was the cabin her father had built
When she was a child of barely three
Yet still she remembers each day they worked
She helped to build this home, not a house

Each nail and screw was placed with love
The timber frame cut and hewn by hand
Each plank took time, to get just right
With care shingles placed to keep out rain

The walls and floors all soaked up the love
A family lived there, the tears and the joy
Parents long gone to meet their maker
What she had left was all around her

As she spoke, her tale slowly unfolded
What I saw was a palace of love and laughter
No longer ramshackle, no longer broken
As if a veil from my eyes had been lifted

I never did find my way back, though I tried
Was this a dream, or reality bites
One thing I know, since then I have changed
I look at this world through new born eyes