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| What happens in a water-rich environment |
The freeze-thaw phenomenon is
A mixed blessing. It’s that slow
Motion of expanding ice that
Grinds porous rock to soil
Amenable to penetrating roots,
To mineral-rich water, where seeds
Captured into the slightest crevices
Will wait for the warmth of spring.
Frost had noted, “Something
There is that doesn’t love a
Wall.” My guess it’s the freeze-
Thaw cycle that topples the
Carefully laid stone of a wall
Without a foundation—a root
That’s grown and shifted the
Once balanced stones to lean
To their detriment this side
Or that. It’s why even for low
Lying structures the base must
Be significantly below the level
Of deepest frost where the ground
Will not heave to break the
Mortar holding the fireplace
Together or sink or raise
The floors. I’ve seen houses
Where foundations have
Cracked, bowed in, and caved.
It might be when you notice
The windows begin to stick.
Investigation reveals the
Frame is out of square, the
Sash endures the squeeze of
A parallelogram until one day
The glass shatters without
Apparent cause. Freeze-thaw
Is the bane of in-ground pools
In this area whether they’re
Just for Koi or for our kids.
Overbuild or overpay. I’ve
Seen people lured by pools
Only to get estimates for
Repair, then decide to spend a
Summer cracking the surround
In the moonlight and tossing
Its chunks into the hollow until
Stones and soil are delivered,
Tamped down, and seeded for
Croquet, Bocce, or badminton,
The chemicals, the pipes, the
Pumps traded off through
Craigslist for barbecue grills.
Blessed indeed are they whose
Basements have never leaked,
Whose foundations are as
Stable today as when first laid.
They may have other nemeses,
Hexes, scourges—leaking roofs,
Infestations, horrible neighbors,
Excessive afternoon sun—no
Matter—they can weather it all.
When the last embers cease to
Glow over where their once
Proud Colonial Revival, Queen
Anne, or Prairie-style home
Once stood before the flames,
They will still have that sound
Fundament on which their new
Tudor, Craftsman, or Mid-century
Modern will soon stably perch.
c. J.S.Manista, 2016
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