Thank you Anna for sharing this beautiful poem with us:
Cupboards, boxes, drawers.
Lofts, cellars, rooms behind closed doors.
Hampers, chests, car boots.
On shelves, in wardrobes and envelopes,
Pockets, bags, sheds and under beds
These are some of the places
You might stumble across
A gift from the dead
An old letter, a card,
A birth certificate,
Tissues once used, coins unspent,
Scraps of paper with doodles on,
A CD, tape or vinyl, favourite songs
Folded book corners on chapters unread
Photos of good times, trigger things that were said, or weren’t said, enough
Shoes, socks, jumpers, shirts,
trousers, slippers, pyjamas, skirts
hats, gloves, scarfs, glasses,
watches, rings, pills, syringe,
medical waste bin
Things they lived on and things they lived in.
An engraved athletics medal awarded in 1955,
Worn now round the neck, close to the heart
Keeps that connection alive
Try not to be scared, or hide away,
Your loved one gone, but here they stay
In these things, and these things and these things and in you
The physical things we cling to in passing
Holding tighter than ever now parted
Pieces of the person who’s physically gone
Remaining now in the pieces of you trying to live on
Some you will release, do not feel bad,
Those that you keep, keep them close, allow for the sad
But try in time to feel comfort instead,
For these are the things left behind for you, the living,
Gifts from your dead.
Anna
Photo by Angela Bailey on Unsplash
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