Rejingots

One solin.

Two rives.

Three voliges.

Four chevrons.

A feuillure.

Some rejingots.

And the basket of chestnuts on the kitchen table.

The word escapes the worksite, a secret lexicon, an involuntary poem.

The house speaks in a language I do not yet understand,but that already moves me.

The word turns metaphor: the house as a body healing, sealing its wounds, readying itself to live otherwise.

Glossary

• Solin = flashing (sealing joint against water)

• Chevron = rafter (structural beam of the roof)

• Volige = roof boarding (thin planks under tiles)

• Feuillure = rebate/groove (joint cut into stone or wood)

• Rejingot = upstand / drip ledge (raised edge at bottom of window to deflect rainwater)