Brick by brick, our house is being built. Earlier this week, we were able to walk ‘inside’ and see the rooms taking shape for the first time. It almost feels as if our house is slowly coming to life. That parallel between the building of a house and life is what struck me in this poem by Emily Dickinson. We need support when we start out, but over time we become self-reliant and even forget that we ever needed supporting.
The Props assist the House
Until the House is built
And then the Props withdraw
And adequate, erect,
The House support itself
And cease to recollect
The Augur and the Carpenter –
Just such a retrospect
Hath the perfected Life –
A Past of Plank and Nail
And slowness – then the scaffolds drop
Affirming it a Soul –
Emily Dickinson
Alix in Wonderland 