Sunday 8 October 2017

Keepsakes from mom's closet



Look, heed, don’t forget,
See now, how fast,
A human life turns into dust.
At the speed of your thought,
At a wink of a memory.
A keepsake there -
Remember that day?
Auntie and uncle,
You've never met my kids.

A kerchief to keep.
A picture to hang.
Oh look, dear me, she did macramé.
A statue on the shelf.
Who'd ever think of that?
Some shameful rags.
A scarf to wrap. 
A painting of trees by a lake.  
Here's grandpa in a frame.
Hats - away, never to be seen again.
Books - I’ll place aside,
Let the rain take them,
Let the rats dine on them.
Bins don’t eat books,
If the humans are human.
But an old life goes right in.
Please take the bed,
No, no, it’s free, 
Just like the life that it used to warm.
Run, run, collect some more,
While the candle still burns.
Paper to paper,
Clothes spilling over,
Mildew and stale perfume, 
Rotting ears of books flung in the wind.
the body is taken by doctors,
The soul hanging by the door, 
Orphaned shoes cry in the rain,
Longing for feet, that
Will never fill them again.
Shelves vomit out
A neatly digested life,
Ready to conceive
More dreams, hatred and hope,
Rage and secrets,
Blood and pain,
A ticking pulse
A memory timer
Explodes ex nihilo,
We start over again.
Somebody, cut the cord.