WHAT SHE LEFT BEHIND

2018 - 2019

After a lifetime secured under my roof, she is no longer here.
I protected her since childhood, kept her warm from long New England winters, comforted during the teenage breakups, and provided a resting place during the complicated illnesses as I saw her age.
Her parents left me to her and now she has left.

She took her memories and stories, and left me with:
the empty stove,
awaiting to prepare another warm meal,
the layers of wallpapers,
showing our long history together,
the stenciled walls,
painted flowers when there were none in my garden,
the crib,
never used,
the nails on the walls,
waiting for new art to be hung,
the empty chairs, in case a guest still decides to visit.

I no longer know what awaits me.