TSL Pandorathon May 29th
When the ancestors left the photo frames prompt given by Santosh Bakaya.
My grandfather came down
And so did my grandmother
In the house now left empty
Then my Dad appeared
At the door of the room at the left
And my mother
In the doorway to the room in the middle where
She used to sleep
Where are the children?
The grandchildren?
The great-grandchildren?
They seemed to ask silently
The house lay empty
And gave no reply
But in the rafters
Laughter echoed
Of my daughters and son
Small
In the space above the ceiling woodbeams
That was a room in itself
Laughter punctuated by my Dad's
And Mom's
She had never seen them, her grandchildren
But now free from the photographs
Time and space collapsed
People could exist
Together
Of different ages
In two different places and times
At the same time
Memories coalesce
Dead people come alive
And meet, play, and laugh
With living ones
Young again
Or of different ages
No rules anymore
It was heaven
Moley, pass me that coconut
My Dad said
Framed, above, looking a bit like a bear
While she did from that upper room
Jo or Abi
While Ru ran around up there
While Mom, Anu and I
Look up from the dining room
Anu and my Mom had never lived under the same roof
She had passed away before we got married
Saying Dad, be careful
Don't fall down
Girls, come down
Throw it down, Dad
I'll catch it
Voices in the air
But he throws it out the door so need to catch
Only collect
Grinning his grin
Footsteps echo on the ceiling
The grandparents are sitting on the sofa in the front room
I wish every day
The ancestors would come out
Of the photo frames
And make the home happy
Second draft
TSL Pandorathon May 29th
When the ancestors left the photo frames prompt given by Santosh Bakaya.
My grandfather came down
And so did my grandmother
With my little sister
In the house now left empty
Then my Dad appeared
At the door of the room at the left
And my mother
In the doorway to the room in the middle where
She used to sleep
Where are the children,
The grandchildren;
And the great-grandchildren?
They seemed to ask silently
The house lay empty
And gave no reply,
But among the rafters
Laughter echoed
Of my daughters, sister, and son
Small
In the space above the ceiling wood beams
That was a room in itself
Laughter punctuated by my Dad's
And Mom's
She had never seen them, her grandchildren
But now free from the photographs
Time and space collapsed
People could exist
Together
Of different ages
From two different places and times
At the same time
Memories coalesce into one
Dead people come alive
And meet, play, and laugh
With living ones
Young or middle-aged again
Or of different ages
No rules anymore
It was heaven
This is heaven
Moley, pass me that coconut
My Dad said
Framed, above, looking a bit like a bear
While she did from that upper room
Jo or Abi or Tina
While Ru ran around up there
While Mom, Anu, and I
Look up from the dining room
Anu and my Mom had never lived under the same roof
She had passed away before we got married
Saying Dad, be careful
Don't fall down
Girls, come down
Throw it down, Dad
I'll catch it
Voices in the air
But he throws it out the door so need to catch
Only collect
Grinning his lovely grin
Footsteps echo on the ceiling
The grandparents sitting on the sofa in the front room
I wish every day
The ancestors would come out
Of the photo frames
And make the home happy.
TSL Pandorathon May 29th
When the ancestors left the photo frames prompt given by Santosh Bakaya.
My grandfather came down
And so did my grandmother
With my little sister
From up there
To the ground
In the house now left empty
Then my Dad appeared
At the door of the room on the left
And my mother
In the doorway to the room in the middle where
She used to sleep
Where are the children,
The grandchildren;
And the great-grandchildren?
They seemed to ask silently
The house lay empty
And gave no reply,
But among the rafters
Laughter echoed
Of my daughters, sister, and son
Small
In the space above the ceiling wood beams
That was a room in itself
Laughter punctuated by my Dad's
And Mom's
She had never seen them, her grandchildren
But now free from the photographs
Time and space collapsed
People could exist
Together
Of different ages
From two different places and times
At the same time
Memories coalesce into one
Dead people come alive
And meet, play, and laugh
With living ones
Young or middle-aged again
Or of different ages
No rules anymore
It was heaven
This is heaven
Moley, pass me that coconut
My Dad said
Framed, above, looking a bit like a bear
While she did from that upper room
Jo or Abi or Tina
While Ru ran around up there
While Mom, Anu, and I
Looked up from the dining room
Anu and my Mom had never lived under the same roof
She had passed away before we got married
Saying Dad, be careful
Don't fall down
Girls, come down
Throw it down, Dad
I'll catch it
Voices in the air
But he throws it out the door so need to catch
Only collect
Grinning his lovely grin
Footsteps echo on the ceiling
The grandparents sitting on the sofa in the front room
I wish every day
The ancestors would come out
Of the photo frames
And make the home happy.
Posts
