FRONT PORCHES

What ever happened to front porches?
Why don’t they build them any more?

Don’t builders realize people need
to wave, watch, scout, knit, call neighbors
over for a few moments of chat to see what’s
happening next door or down the street –
to spot cats lurking in the bushes?

Build front porches ! Add on!
Put a carpenter to work!
Call it retro tech or old tech or whatever
and discover front porches are better
than texting, twittering or new techy.

Surprise – you’ll see sunrises or sunsets –
depending on which way you’re facing.
Surprise – you’ll see what Jesus saw
2,000 years ago: the birds of the air and
the flowers along the edges of one's life.

© Andy Costello, Reflections, 2009