Age of Discovery

Floorboards kiss scraped knees,

coolness soothing yesterday’s sunburn.

Mosquito bites line the legs of cousins,

reminiscent of the preacher’s wife’s

polka dot pantyhose.

Dark underneath of a bedpost

is refuge

for nosey little girls.

One plump leg lazily strewn over

the rim of a pearl white claw-foot,

door is ajar.

Sunbeams scatter about in odd fragments,

stage light for the show.

Words are all drowned

under the running of the faucet

but for a single sob.

Hushed breaths echo against the stillness,

grimy child’s fingers interlock,

praying to their Sunday morning God

wild heartbeats

won't yet give them away.

Queen sized mattress

buckles beneath the weight

of her obese grief.

Troy’s name is the thunder

that bellows from the cracks of lightning,

white hot bolts of agony,

threatening to reduce her to the feeble glass

of the stricken sands of the earth.  

In a bed of mourning

lay a woman

who sorrow had become.

Beneath bedposts were once

where girl cousins

heard of church gossip and family feuds.

For the ignorance of childhood,

the space is now forever marked a tomb.

Here lies

innocence -

rest in peace.

Author's Note

This poem comes from a very personal memory in my life. When my cousin and I were little, we would hide under my great aunt's bed after church to listen to her conversations on the phone. One day, a few months after our uncle, her son, had passed away, we made the misfortunate decision to play another round of 'spy'. Through this game, we learned that our uncle had actually died of a drug overdose, an apparent suicide. It's one of the first times I can recall having been so shockingly pulled out of the bubble of childhood and thrown into a scary world I did not want to live in.

Reviews

[Spencer Barker]

Devon, I am sorry about the loss of your uncle. Those events in our lives are never easy, but you have made this poem very personal, meaningful, and passionate in the best way you can with something as shocking as this must have been. Very impressive writing!

[devon]

Thank you so much for this review! I really appreciate your kind words and you taking the time to read this :)

[Melinda McQueen]

This is such a deep, meaning poem. The story unfolded nicely, pulling the reader in to relive it with you. What an awakening memory. Nicely written.

[devon]

Thank you so much! It especially means so much coming from such a talented writer as yourself :)