Some years ago I took a picture of this house, all locked up and not lived in. Something about such houses make me sad. A A house that must have been built with so much thought and planning. Perhaps, the original owner took years to gather enough money to build it. A house that at one time was probably filled with family, love and laughter. Now it has just become a house where nobody lives.
If there’s love in a house
It’s a palace for sure
Without love…
It ain’t nothin’ but a house
A house where nobody lives
From the lyrics of House Where Nobody Lives by Tom Waits
Somehow, I’m not just thinking about a house anymore. I’m thinking about people.
That addict who is just a shadow of himself after years of drugs.
The young girl, who because of depression, is no longer the vivacious girl she was.
That woman, who abused and tortured, goes around with a vacant expression.
The once loving couple, who now cannot stand the sight of each other – living in an empty relationship.
Pain, neglect, abuse, abandonment…
All these things can make us like a house where nobody lives..
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Damn, that was a strong turn from the empty house to the empty human shell.
And yes, think of it from this point of view – me, as an 18 year old joining med school. 100s of students. And each one of us gets given a bag filled with human bones. To study in the hostel.
The thought was always there – those bones had a life once. They had dreams, aspirations. They had crushes, fell in love and lost in some aspects of life.
It really was a gut punch at that age where we think we never have to think so far ahead to what went wrong in life that one ended up a bag of bones in a medical college.
And you took it to another level! Gosh, I never realized that you get a bag of bones! Now, I’m going to start wondering too about how people end up this way!
Hi Corinne!
I love old houses and often wonder about the history. I posted a picture of an abandoned house on Pinterest years ago and it’s my most copied pin ever.
Your post forced me to pause and reflect. An empty house, like any human being, must have seen its days of laughter, companionship, faith, dreams, and numerous other emotions. However, today, it sits alone and broken. There is nobody to mend its cracks, redecorate, move its furniture around, look at its walls and think of a new way to beautify it. So similar to an alone and broken human. Sad, but, sadly, an everyday reality. So scary and thought-provoking! What is left of us when there is nobody with whom we shared our precious moments? I wonder!
There are many old houses in the older parts of the city (here in Bangalore), Corinne. I’ve always wanted to capture them in my frames because these are invariably beautiful houses that stand alone, but with a character of their own, so unique and striking, even in their decay. I love old houses and always think of them as bustling with people, filled with echoes of the past and faces that flash and blur away. I know it sounds spooky but the eerieness always makes me ponder on who all lived in them and what their lives were like. I had similar thoughts seeing the picture in your post. 🙂
That was deep, Corinne. From an abandoned house to abondoned souls. Your posts always strike a cord and speak volumes despite the sparing words.
I have always been intrigued by old, dilapidated structures, wondering what transpired within those vacant walls, and what led them to their current state. I have seen so many of these in Calcutta and Banglore. Someday I hope do a photo walk and capture the the myriad stories behind these abandoned homes.
This piece evoked so many emotions, all at the same time. Thank you. xoxo
That’s a lovely reflection corinne. We pass by many such houses, but where do we have the time to think about what might have been, so engrossed we are in our social media or weighed down with worldly problems.
How terribly sad to remain empty shells of people we once were. I too feel sad when I see an empty house. It makes the life of the owner so meaningless to have no one left behind to appreciate his labour of love.
A body is declared dead without its soul…. a house without bonds never become home… Abandoned homes with dead memories, without any legacy of love and nothing to look back for are the ones breathing between the hope of life and desire to die…
The lines of the song are profound and speak of the inevitable turns and changes of life. Empty houses and empty souls share a close connection. How? I get it here from your writing.
I wonder the same when I see an abandoned house and when a relationship/bad habit destroys your soul, you are just a body and in fact nobody,
When I see the old houses, several thoughts run in my mind. Possibilities of why such beautiful house is abandoned.
So sad. You don’t think of a house like a person, but you bring that together beautifully. Thanks for this, Corinne. Thankful Thursday Week 42
You would be surprised but I think about empty houses a lot. The life that was and now. You are right that it’s about people. Who once had a life that they lived happily and then, a life that may be they think about why they need to live. A thought-provoking post, Corinne.