It backs the Agua Fria Freeway,
a rolled newspaper still in the drive.
Why didn’t I notice the signs?
There’s a crack in an upstairs window;
white roses in the yard
bend and droop like once proud nuns
now turned brown in the sun.
I remember when they were full sails,
taut and quivering at a busy harbor—
but this
matches my own heart for rent,
where boats come, but mostly go,
sitting like an empty womb,
a house for all
I wish I’d given you.
Oh those splashes of cold water we call regret, they'll make your heart turn over in your chest sometimes. I love the detail of the white roses that you used here, and the comparison to once-proud nuns. Lovely somber stuff, Jennifer.
ReplyDeleteThe roses drooping like once proud nuns is just brilliant. Your closing lines really ping the heart. Just wonderfully done.
ReplyDeleteHow very tender and enriched with beautiful and touching imagery - lovely - Jae
ReplyDeleteGreat writing and i love those images of full sails - Excellent
ReplyDeleteSo rich and poignant! Enjoyed the nuns imagery, and the last two lines were SO killer good!
ReplyDeleteReads like a ballad that needs to be put to music, Jen, the imagery so evocative of what was lost and now is past desire. So beautifully written.
ReplyDeleteThere is nothing like sitting amongst our regrets, so many why's and what if's. I've been through so many of them since losing my daughter.
ReplyDeleteLove “bend and droop like once proud nuns” !!
ReplyDeleteThe roses to nuns analogy is wonderful writing.
ReplyDelete