WHITEFACE

Built of blocks of local sandstone
The White House was lime washed
On completion in 1798
To protect the porous blocks
During extreme frosts.

The Lime filled cracks and fissures
Prevented moisture intrusion
From Damaging the structure
During freezes - but wore off
The smooth surfaces of the stone.

Occasional reapplications
Were necessary to maintain
This protection, but over time
The Mansion’s facades
Presented a honeyed hue.

Two decades after its
Completion it was coated
In a dead white leaded paint
Acquiring its eponymous
Whiteface.

Lost was the organic
Mottling of the stone
That reflected a rich diversity
Of warm light and suggested
A connection to the Land.

During a tumultuous Nineteenth
Century its Whiteface
Served as a telling Metaphor
For the Indian-killing and slave-owner
Presidents who called it Home.

Now Embedded In the Public
Imagination as a Synecdoche for
American Government, the Next
Occupant of the White House
May Paint it Gold

Suitably Elaborating
The Metaphor
Expressed in the Facades
Of The Nation’s
Presidential
Palace.