The River Took It Back

My grandfather built it in nineteen
forty seven on the wrong ground
Everyone told him and he built it there
because the light was good
It went under in fifty three
and in seventy nine
and in two thousand and seven
Each time we took the floors up
and each time we put them back
There is a mark on the door
frame at the height of my shoulder
That is the water and it is
not a story it is a measurement
I have known
that mark since I was four years old

The insurance stopped in two thousand
and nine and they were right to
A man came out
and looked at the river
and did the arithmetic
He said with respect this is
not a risk it is a schedule
And he was completely correct
and we stayed exactly where we were

The river took it back again
and we will take
it back off the river
That is the arrangement and nobody signed it
and nobody can end it
You can call it stubborn
and my brother calls it something worse
There is a house and there is water
and there is a family in between
We have got a system now
and we can strip
a room in four hours
And in the spring the light comes off
that water and there is nothing like it

My brother went to Leeds in ninety eight
and he was the clever one
He rings in January every year
because January is when it comes
He says one day it will be
more than the floors and he is right
He says one day
somebody will be in it
and he is right about that too
I have never once been able to argue
with a thing he says
And I have never once considered
doing what he says I should
He has a good house on a hill
and he is happier than me
And he asks about the mark
on the door frame every single time

The river took it back again
and we will take
it back off the river
That is the arrangement and nobody signed it
and nobody can end it
You can call it stubborn
and my brother calls it something worse
There is a house and there is water
and there is a family in between
We have got a system now
and we can strip
a room in four hours
And in the spring the light comes off
that water and there is nothing like it

My daughter is eleven and she helped
with the floors in March
She was up to her knees in it
and she thought it was tremendous
I watched her carrying a board
that was too big for her
And I understood that I am doing
to her what he did to me
I have not decided yet whether
that is a gift or a debt
And I have got about
seven years to work it out

The river took it back again
and we will take
it back off the river
That is the arrangement and nobody signed it
and nobody can end it
You can call it stubborn
and my brother calls it something worse