Home Invasion

Suddenly they were there, in our house
looming over us, burly and brusque
rough in appearance and intimidating
armed with hammers, drills, knives
their presence engulfing our sense of
privacy. Their grit-booted footfalls
spreading dirt on our floors, their
intentional gesture, leaving wide
open our sliding patio doors on a
sub-zero day, snow falling relentlessly
the wretched wind careening into the
open gap bringing the chill of winter
with it as snow swirled within and we
instantly felt our vulnerability yet were
powerless to fend off the cold much
less the actions of these strangers.
Their speech accented, informing us
one from Siberia the other from Poland
their intention to impact our lives as
they set about destroying the frame
holding the doors in place for full
exposure to the raging elements. They 
worked like demons those intruders
coordinating their efforts as professional
installers, removing the sliders whose
functionality was depleted, replacing
them with new ones. Hard work that
took the experienced crew of two  no
fewer than five hours of steady work
as we plied them with coffee and
cupcakes, cookies and genuine gratitude.