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Starting Over
They realised it wasn't working,
so they decided to move away
and start again.
There was so much to pack.
They lovingly wrapped
all their hurts and long-nursed grievances
in sheets of old newspaper
and tucked them carefully inside
a box
with the Christmas decorations.
They dragged from backs of cupboards
guilts that smelled of mothballs,
dusted off old regrets.
They ticked off inventories
of disappointments and betrayals,
and when everything was packed away in crates
[labels: "routine",
"remorse", "reproach",
"for the sake of the children"],
they carried them out to
waiting removal vans.
They must have been so heavy.
Then once the house was empty,
clean,
purged of the sad clutter
of something that didn't work,
they left,
took with them
everything they didn't realise
they might have left behind,
and started a new life.
A shared, unspoken doubt
festers quietly on a different mantlepiece.
Crossings-out in a few address books.
A new postcode to remember.
Starting over.
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Comment by: Cate - 2007-02-13 04:13
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| Wow... I think I might be a fan |
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Comment by: Seantalia Online- 2007-01-25 22:43
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This piece is beautiful, though it left me with a sadness, particularly due to this bit:
"A shared, unspoken doubt
festers quietly on a different mantlepiece."
True of so many relationships. And for some reason this reminds me of The Police's "Synchronicity II," I suppose because of familial disharmony. Thanks for the wonderful imagery! :) |
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Comment by: - 2007-01-19 10:56
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| Ths is wonderful imagery. I love your work... |
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Stevie, I think this is one of the best things you have written. The metaphor is so obvious and simple, but this is to me what great writing is about. There were a few things that should be cut (the labels bit could go), but apart from that I loved the spare, understated style of the piece, written without bitterness or regret. It was almost an acknowledgement of what happens when things fall apart, or when someone is dying of a terminal illness. A resignation of whatever will be, will be. Great stuff. Thanks for this.
Paul :D |
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Comment by: - 2006-07-12 18:39
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| That shared unspoken doubt. The essential ingredient in starting over, and these words of yours. Thanks Stevie. |
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