I used to play beneath the giant oaks
That framed my grandparents house 
Planted to cool the place in summer,
As it was built well before there was
Such a thing as air conditioning, the
House constructed to move air via 
Well-placed windows and doors as
They all were in those days

I’d play for hours, all by myself so
My mammy could watch her stories
And my pappy napped on the porch 
Right there in the shade of those oaks
My imagination more than enough 
To keep me entertained 

I don’t remember being hot despite 
It being in the throes of southern
Summer, and me outside pert nigh
All day long; nobody ever complained
The house was made for that, to stay
Cool in summer and warm in winter
I have only good memories

They got their first air conditioner,
A window unit, around the turn of
The century; my pappy wouldn’t 
Turn it on, said it made him freeze
My mammy used it after he died
Not long after the towers fell 

That time in my life 
Felt like the end of an era
As well as the end of my childhood
Buildings falling; pappy’s leaving 
And their house proper cold
Even during the Kentucky heat