Taking Down the House
©2019 Susan Noyes Anderson
Today we bid the house farewell,
last of the last goodbyes.
Bare walls looked down on emptied shelves
as tears welled in our eyes.
Penned journals, letters, photographs…
two lifetimes sorted through,
a myriad of memories,
sweet treasures, old and new.
We left with all the history
our arms and rooms could hold.
The rest will go to charity,
a few things will be sold.
And yet, this home was not about
the keepsakes or the cost.
Its value is the legacy,
which never will be lost.
The moment came for us to leave,
but things looked out of place.
I cleaned up, knowing that would put
a smile on my mom’s face.
We paused to say a little prayer,
gave thanks with one long gaze;
and reverently, we closed the door
on our Palm Desert days.
For more of my poems on death, loss and grieving, click here.
Tags: death, grieving, home, loss of a parent, mourning, nostalgia, parents
