the glass house

a found poem

I had never been to the house
There was a big dinner
And I said rather loudly
Oh, I’ve never seen it

Phillip said
well why don’t you come tomorrow

It snowed overnight
We were received
As he was finishing lunch
He was a bit frail

We had a long conversation
Then he handed us a ring of keys
Two pairs of galoshes
And said I’m going for a nap

The place is completely empty
And we’re on the other side of the hill
Looking back at the house

There was only one thing
On the table
A Grapefruit
In a transparent bowl

You could see it a mile away

It was this white landscape
Glass cube
And this yellow spot

Almost like the sun
In the middle of the house


Found in the November 2006 issue of « Metropolis », in a tribute to Phillip Johnson's Glass House.