I walk on hot sidewalk
To the address where
Our hearts used to live
The house is gutted inside
After decades of neglect
Sun shining through windows
And rain has merely contributed
Long tears on the inner walls
Of today's empty shell
Full of memories I finger
Holes in the peeling sides
Fragments fall to the dusty floor
There once were two stories here
Even in this decay I can see
Bright green leaves wave in
From the strong trees
That loved to surround us
Smiling at our naivete
You came home from work
Every evening to cook rice
Baking a happy kitchen
Later a gleeful bedroom
We laughed making love
On store bought sheets
We broke the legs of the bed
With our enthusiasm
But it didn't matter
We sat side by side
Surfing laptops
In two languages
Now I stand alone
Inside this wreckage
The ceiling fans still spin
In my mind it is
Just a breeze that has
Passed into a cloudless sky
A brilliant sun that forgot
Each day was memorable
For good and bad
I want to bring back
Past light to break again
So we can see our lives
Trespassing on this street
In which we walked
Holding precious hands
Up to the market
Or to the park to play
With the ducks down the way
Are those sunbeams
No only recollections
Of my abandoned safety
Old books strewn
Around the ex-carpet
Tell a poetry I remember
Enough to bind them
In my mindheart
Preserved until the passage
Of time shakes memory
Like atoms in the air
Floating freely everywhere
copyright 2016
Don Kingfisher
Campbell |