The house still breathes (Poem)

There is a silence between lightning and thunder
A beat of stillness where we meet
Like a storm of love greets an old house
Loud and with creaking bones
The windows of who I am rattle
My floorboards are filled with things I’d rather forget
Echoing with footsteps of people I no longer talk to
You call it noise, I call it the sound of commitment
My walls were not built for gentleness
A child once drew their dreams there
They have nails from people trying to stay, like claw marks
And you lean against them like you've lived here all your life
You trace my chipped paint, the veins of hope that run deep within
When you, my storm rage, I break down the doors just to let you in
Cause if you remind me of anything
It is that I, too, can endure this