Reclaimed wood

He wanted to add something different to his renovations

New wood had no character and he rejected it as boring

He found a supplier of reclaimed wood

Materials rescued from old building demolitions

Sifting through all the remnants he picked everything out

There were pine boards for the floor

Oak for floating shelves

English elm for the mantle

It all blended together so well 

Complete with knots and filled nail holes

He admired the finished work over a glass of single malt

Wondering what stories the wood could tell

The wood remained tight lipped

He had a second and third single malt before falling asleep

Once he was snoring soundly the shelf started talking

Well this is better than where I used to live

I am sure it is replied the mantle

I used to roast over an open fire but now its a decorative gas fire

This place is a step up from our previous homes said the pine

My previous owners trampled on us with working boots

This guy roams around in slippers

And you get cleaned and polished weekly said the shelves

You were lucky to get that once a year before

Yes we hit the jackpot said the mantle

He woke from his slumber and staggered off to bed

Once he was snoring again the shelves piped up

Look he left a bottle of single malt on top of me

Lets have a party to celebrate our new home

The pine flooring wandered over and took a sip

Pass me a glass shouted the mantle

They laughed and told stories all through the night

Leaving only a small amount in the bottle on the shelf

When he woke up the next morning he looked around

The place looked fabulous but the bottle of single malt caught his eye

I don’t remember drinking all that he proclaimed

But I guess I must have because nobody else was here

The shelves chuckled and the pine floor sniggered 

Be quiet whispered the mantle, we must not get discovered

The security cameras piped up saying we captured you all on video

OK said the shelving, how much to keep you guys quiet?

That bottle of port on the shelf looks good said the cameras

OK its yours said the shelf, I will slide it to you when he goes out

The cameras got wasted on port and accidentally sent out an alert

Police responded immediately to an assumed burglary but found nothing

The owner was embarrassed by the false alarm and disconnected the alarm system

After restocking his bar he went away on vacation for two weeks

Booze was flying off the shelf and the pine invited everybody to dance on him

They were rocking and rolling all night with booze flowing and joints being passed around

Somebody dropped a joint on the pine floor and it started a fire

By the time the fire dept arrived the house was well ablaze

All the reclaimed wood perished in the fire

The owner came back and viewed the damage’

He decided to rebuild the house entirely from reclaimed wood………

Barry the brick

Barry the brick was made in 1940

he sat in a yard for a few years waiting for somebody to buy him

maybe I will be in the facade of a grand building he thought, or perhaps near the front door of a small family home

he hoped it would be somewhere with lots of activity

one day in 1954, a truck pulled up and a man started loading bricks

the bricks were all excited and looking forward to an adventure

Barry was fortunate to be loaded on the side of the truck where he could see out

the inward facing bricks asked Barry to tell them what he could see

Barry told them they were passing open fields where cows and sheep grazed

we are going down a lane towards an old derelict farmhouse, they seem to be in the process of rebuilding

the truck stopped and all the bricks were unloaded in a pile

they started chatting about who would end up where in the wall and who would have the best view

the next day the bricks were picked and placed next to a wall

one by one they were cemented into the wall, they were all facing outward and had a great view over the farmyard

Barry was placed high up and had the best view

when the construction was finished, the bricks watched the old farm being transformed into a vineyard

they saw grapes being harvested and wine being bottled

soon there were daily visitors, wine tastings, parties and live music

they watched the vineyard being passed on to other generations as time rolled on

by 2019,  a few of the bricks became loose enough to sneak off the wall at night and steal wine from the tasting room

they would bring it back to share with all the other bricks in the wall

they had wild parties and told stories late into the night

Barry got so drunk one night that he fell off the wall and smashed into the yard below

Barry never recovered but the other bricks held a celebration of his life

he had seen a lot during his 79 years

RIP Barry the brick.