lacks of locks

we grew up

in a partial build

a house never quite finished

and when people came to visit

they remained aghast at the lack

of bedroom doors...

An American necessity perhaps?

well giving in to social pressures

the family added over time

these light hollow panels

...with no door handles...

yes by that age even I thought

it strange, their omission...

having to crawl awkwardly

to pry open a way

from the crack

between the floor

in somewhat irrational

urgency because after all

what did it matter?

there was no lock

up on it...

And even when

the Knob was finally added

and it was several years in

it was merely decorative

a non-turning button

that did nothing

to hold the place in the frame

in the center left or right

(as is the traditional custom)

And still no lock was on it

I don't see this as aesthetic ploy

or feng shui or fun per se

but rather as a thing symbolic

or metaphoric...

the carpenter having some

philosophic tick

against it, in or out

I cannot say except

I've known

the well of panic!

from either side

...of the door

that will not open

and the one that

refuses to be shut

08.29.2023

Close a Door challenge @AJAY9979