The back door
The back door,
the comfy one,
where friends with bikes
come looking for fun,
where dates in crewcuts
drop you off
to caveat of
father’s cough,
where summer slam
on laundry day
warns of basement
straightaway.
The portal to life
with homework clutched tight,
from lunchbox to car keys,
witness to rite.
The brass-handled doorbell
as years go along,
pealing bing-clunk
instead of bing-bong.
In births and in deaths,
the back door invites
to be part of the story
a family writes,
so it’s fitting I think
that a door be a gate
enshrined in a fence,
back-dooring in state.
With thanks to Lois for the photograph,
submitted to Dan Antion’s
Oddments 
May 22, 2024 at 8:56 am
This brought back a few memories. Back in the day when salesmen even came to the back door.
May 22, 2024 at 9:03 am
Now I’m trying to remember if salesmen appeared there. Thanks for your comment!
May 22, 2024 at 9:09 am
Our kitchen was in the back of the house. It’s almost as if salesmen knew this and also that the housewife would spend a lot of time there and thus would hear the knock on the back door. I have a very early memory of about age 4 and a salesman rapping and entering the kitchen.
May 22, 2024 at 9:24 am
Not the kind of thing we’d appreciate today!
May 22, 2024 at 9:54 am
Our back door was open to family and friends. The people who entered their were safe and welcome. Thanks for evoking those great memories.
May 22, 2024 at 10:25 am
Those are indeed great memories. They come with equally great feelings. Thanks, Dan!
May 22, 2024 at 10:23 am
Wonderful and so true! It immediately reminded me of getting off the city bus at my twin friends’ house to walk to high school together. I would enter the back door which went into their grandparents part of the house. They would be having their breakfast toast and tea made by their German grandmother. Every once in a while, there’d be a fresh batch of nut horns that I would taste test. What a great memory, and I appreciate you reminding me of it. 🙂
May 22, 2024 at 10:26 am
Oh, a great memory indeed! What a fabulous way to start out a high school day! Only a back door could open to that. Thank you, Judy!
May 22, 2024 at 12:50 pm
The back door was definitely the ‘welcome’ door. Our opened into our kitchen and I can still hear my mother saying, “Don’t let the door slam!” Of course, it did. Every time. This is wonderful, Maureen.
May 22, 2024 at 1:11 pm
Thanks, Lois! Your photo poked at me — I think the people who built that fence must have a good sense of humor. As for not letting doors slam, that could have been a recording and just played ad infinitum — along with “Wipe your feet!” Those three little words.
May 22, 2024 at 1:27 pm
I enjoyed the feeling of nostalgia that your poem highlighted with its poignant reflection on memories. Your words here resonated:
“…the back door invites
To be part of the story
a family writes…backdooring””
May 22, 2024 at 1:34 pm
Thanks, Suzette! The old door in Lois’ photo sure evoked memories for me.
May 22, 2024 at 1:37 pm
Same here. Thank you. I enjoyed reading your reflections.
May 22, 2024 at 1:58 pm
Love this poem Maureen. This is a door like no other. A giant could walk through it and never have to duck.
But what makes it special is that it is the BACK door, where friends and family come and go regularly. No need to knock or ring the doorbell, just come on in and set yourself down. There’s always a fresh pot of coffee and something just baked.
Ginger🦋
May 22, 2024 at 2:08 pm
Hey! Guess what! WordPress figured out you’re OK — I didn’t have to approve you!
As for the door, I like it a lot. Your description of life inside the back door is just wonderful. Thanks, Ginger!
May 22, 2024 at 2:17 pm
Woohoo! Lois said the same thing. Two in one day….be still my heart.
My iPad is charging so I’m working from iPhone. That can’t be the difference, can it?! We’ll see next time when I’m on the iPad.
Ginger🦋
May 22, 2024 at 3:01 pm
If that is what makes the difference, then who can explain it? We live in a weird world, Ginger — but then you knew that.
May 22, 2024 at 3:00 pm
Okay Maureen, iPad is charged so let’s see what happens when I send it. 🤞🤞
Ginger🦋
May 22, 2024 at 3:02 pm
Yep, I had to approve you! I can but shake my head and shrug. You are brilliant for figuring this out! That’s real people 1, machine 0!
May 24, 2024 at 11:58 am
First of all I love that house and it’s serendipity of windows and doors. But you’ve also made me remember how we never used the front door (or the living room for that matter) in the houses I grew up in. I’ve lived in apartments for years, but the kitchen is still the heart of every space I’ve inhabited, even though there’s only one door. (K)
May 24, 2024 at 12:09 pm
I used to have an apron that was imprinted with the eternal question: How did everybody end up in my kitchen? It is so true about the heart in the kitchen. Maybe that’s part of why the back door is important in memory. Thanks, Kerfe!
May 24, 2024 at 10:52 pm
That’s perfect for an apron.
May 24, 2024 at 9:16 pm
Marueen, this is truly a marvelous poem. Kudos. Big hugs.
May 24, 2024 at 10:53 pm
Thanks, Teagan!
June 10, 2024 at 7:58 pm
Oh, I love this. It felt nostalgic to me. I often dream of the back door to the house I grew up in, which I don’t think is there anymore. Beautiful poem, Maureen!
June 10, 2024 at 8:00 pm
Thanks, Brenda! Apparently back doors were important for many of us; they open to important memories.