Reluctantly,
the splintered old door
swings slowly open
and musty dusty smells greet me.
The floor boards creak,
moaning with cold hollow
mournful empty echoes
punctuated by the whistling wind
as it cuts though broken windows.
An old cracked butter dish,
(Depression glass,
once hurled across the room)
now sits precariously
on the edge of a coffee stained kitchen table
both ready to fall into oblivion.
Roaming,
I walk from room to room
recollections emerge meekly
squeaking with every step.
Ghostly apparitions play in shadows:
with scoffs and scorns and contumelious taunts
dark specters deride my existence.
These phantom voices pierce the air
odious bellows of obloquy meant
to obliterate all objections.
sounding all too much like my father.
Alone,
in the center of this old house,
sits the weeping waiting child;
unloved and nearly forgotten,
shivering in the cold emptiness,
surrounded by tormenting fears.
A blank stare masks the dread,
afraid of being lost and alone,
the child fades in and out of focus
as a young sapling, slowly fading,
disappearing within an envelopingWinter fog.
~r
All rights reserved,
©October, 2004 R.G. Braley
(astralshepherd)
Author notes
Written October 21st, 2004
I really do not think this fits the contest,
but the images are strikingly similar to
what I imagine when reading the author page
of this contest holder
http://allpoetry.com/paw-writer
So I guess my motive for offering
the poem here is not so much for
contest competition but empathy for
the lost and lonely child we carry within.
Blessings and best wishes 
The quote "scoffs and scorns and contumelious taunts"
is from Shakespeare’s History of Henry VI Part One, Act I. Scene IV.
Earl of Salisbury - “Yet tell'st thou not how thou wert entertain'd. “
Lord Talbot/Earl of Shrewsbury. – “With scoffs and scorns and contumelious taunts.
In open market-place produced they me, To be a public spectacle to all: “
A contest entry
- A Sense of Place by Nicada.
700 points, ended December 18, 2008, 16 entries
Gold trophy winner
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest
What did you think
Comments
1 - 9 of 9
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I loved this...it has a haunting quality. I found myself so wrapped up in it like one does when they are feasting on another's imaginative words and imagery. You did a brilliant job...well-deserving of the gold shiny! Congratulations
Mariana
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Wow!
Oh wow! Yes! This really does fit quite well in the contest. The vivid imagery puts me right inside that house. I feel honored and blessed that you would share this poem with me. A very touching, sad, but beautifully written piece. Thank you so much for entering. Blessings, Patty
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The empty old house and you dusting the suitcases of emotional baggage… very evocative! I did like ‘contumelious’, it’s a good word and I can see why you used it; I had a slight problem until it got to the father for is too strong for the shades… they lurk and skulk in the shadows… tainting the milk of human kindness; but when it was the echoes of an angry father it was great. The fading between the child and the adult was very good too – well done a very strong write!
Oh and typo - I think line 4 du(s)ty?
Edited on Nov 04 because 'Of; idiosyncratic perturbations and shibboleths of affirmation – quintessential quirky quips and spilling mistakes where my pen slips… (and to leave this message…'. -
If each one of us opened the door of the closet and pushed back the skeletons would we find a dusty mansion with creaking floor boards lurking behind? The almost-forgotten child, I like that. Ignored, unloved, alone but not entirely forgotten. You took the reader on a journey that wasn't exactly comfortable but well worth the ride.
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Most Excellent!
This poem took me back down memory lane. I can relate to these feelings.
Though my childhood home is very much alive, with mother still lurking about.
She still tries to hurt me, however I won't allow her too.
I'm grateful that I can love, In fact, I know some survivors who use their past
as an excuse to hate. Remaining a victim. I get the feeling by reading the other
comments, and your comments to me, You are a loving wonderful soul.
I've been told that it is wrong to rehash my abusive past, Though my opinion stands..
There's nothing wrong with trying to deal with the ghosts from our past.
I think nurturing ourselves will help us heal. Though I do wonder if I will
always feel empty at times. Like on Mothers day. I am a mother, and I have
broken the cycle of abuse in my family. From what my dad told me, My mother was abused
by her father. Though, It was not right what she put me through. When my two
were born, I knew what my mother did to me, HURT. So I did everything opposite.
Truth be told, I was a bit too easy with my two kiddies.
My daughter is a mommy,
and wow, what a wonderful mom she is too. God Bless you!
I loved every word I read in this poem. I really like poetry that I can feel.
Most excellent job!!!!!
YerTweetyness
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Blessed be His bounty
Thank you for sharing with us these raw memories, with which we all can identify and which we all somehow share in common from those crazy, unfathomable, indelible first experiences in life that we call childhood with their bittersweet legacy. We're all survivors who have been blessed with the privilege of being able to read and share in these words with you. Cheers.
Edited on Oct 22, 5:06 p.m. because ''. -
This was so well written. You totally captivated me and made me want more of the story when I finished reading this. I felt as if I was the one walking through the house and seeing all of that. These words came from real feelings, or at least it sure seemed that way. Awesome imagery.
~Lyrical
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Okay, now I have chill bumps, but the good kind. This was hauntingly stunning. I lived in my great great grandparents house for a couple of years. There was a certain peace and comfort I found while living there alone with memories, but yet there was an unsettling feeling I would get at times. The house was an old shotgun house with 4 original rooms, and a porch. There were 2 bedrooms, a kitchen, and a living room. The bathroom and laundry room were added on in the 1960's. The house was very run down, but I have so many memories of staying in that house as a child when my great aunt and uncle lived there. I stayed with them a lot as a child. All of the images portrayed in this write, I could feel as if I were there myself. Superb write. I enjoyed this trip through time.
becca
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My, what wonderful poetic words we weave, once again. To the untrained poet it would seem that the scoffs and scorns and contumelious taunts were from childhood memories, but I had to look at this twice before I could make a proper judgement. I got the feeling as if I were walking through a house you lived in during your younger years, and also stepped into a time portal. Memories, both pleasant and not so pleasant, circled around you as you meandered through the corridors. I find this absolutely wonderful, in an eerie sort of way. It seems like I got a glimpse into your life!
Many blessings,
Raven Aurora
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