December ~
an illusive show-case
that helped me pass the time
stringing up minutes
and baubles painted a mirrored shade of yesterday
that compelled my understanding
of a full-grown ache.
The gifts began to tremble
as I walked barefoot through a world
that snarled at my veil ~
and the silver ribbons rip from unwanted bits
of nothing more than betrayal.
I still hear those bells on Christmas day
masquerading through my walls
a kind of pick me up tune
that doesn't last.
Well it's that time of year again
to frolic through misused ornaments
that play forgiving games
momentarily
then in the darkness of the 26th
the stillness in me knows the sky's abyss
laying beneath rotting mistletoe
where your lips fell
against hers
Author notes
The Bulbs
for Lisa Denton
I wait in the U-Haul with the kids
while she, in my sister’s peasant skirt
and her brother’s parka, fishes
the beds with a busted trowel,
then her bare hands thrusting, pulling
dark knots from the cold ground.
Behind her, the torched house
where her mother drank herself
to death, where we lived
until it burned. The insurance
bastards, still investigating,
won’t even pay for a motel.
I honk—Come on! She stands
in the stiff wind, which sends
the charred stink of the place
over the town. She walks the lawn
looking—not quite down—almost
inside herself for where she planted.
The kids have mourned their
stuffed animals, didn’t even cry
when the neighbors looted, but
no way will she leave these bulbs,
which have made flowers in two houses,
on both sides of the Hudson.
Finally she comes to the truck,
the hem of her skirt
in her hand, cradling them.
She blinks back tears, climbs
in, slams the door, says
Get this goddamn thing moving.
Douglas Goetsch
A contest entry
- A Moment Like This by Rowan.
800 points, ended December 17, 2008, 13 entries
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest
Please tell me what you think
Comments
-
this season does bring out the best of melancholy and nostalgia, doesn't it? I liked this one alot too, probably because I can relate to the mood.
-
Awesome
Extraodinary write, sad but enjoyable read.
-
wow! i love where you took me with this ...an excellent intrepidation and inspiration to a reality poem...and oh what a sad christmas this is
mal
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