Nostalgia for Sale

Priceless...

               Photographer: Mary Ann Potter

You gave me that look, rolled your eyes…chuckling

Your connection to my heart severed wholly with a rusty hatchet

I wanted to buy that house, my house and mend it neat

The one where a young girls dreams warped and waned by day

Nostalgia for sale……ragdoll memories

 “Run to the market punkin' and get me a beer”
Cigarette perilously close to my hair
“Your mom’s after me to paint the house”
One apple, two apples, three apples, four... 

That top step was perfect for dolls, a book, a kiss, a cry

Daddy’s front stoop wisdom, forming misconceptions, but endearing nonetheless

Rodney hiding under that porch when company came…hoping for skirts

Missionaries chased down the block, caught only in the dog’s dreams

Nostalgia for sale……fading memories

“Run to Green’s for me sweetheart, I need some smokes”

Whiskey breath perilously close to my nose

“Your mom’s after me to fix the fence”

Five apples, six apples, seven apples, more...

Locks on teenagers doors kept Uncle Jacob at bay, drunken covert fumbling

Mom seemed to turn the other cheek til’ midnight knife to balls….reformed, Hallelujah

Carport posts destroyed by driving lessons and dad’s not so subtle teachers hand

Tree house porn scattered by the wind, glossy thighs on mom’s windshield, beatings

Nostalgia for sale….so sweet memories

“Run to Grant’s Teddy bear, my oxygen is out”

My first love perilously close to death

“Your mom is after me stay on the couch”

Don’t be in a rush to get out that door...

Author's Note

In these boxes we call home.

Reviews

[Beccy]

Remarkable; and unique. So much contained in the subtle and so very gentle hints of the storms that swirled around those ragdoll memories.

I really enjoyed this.

Beccy.

[Crowley]

Thanks Beccy!!! Rolling down the Rhine on a Riverboat cruise right now...it is amazing. Thanks for the stop, always a pleasure to see you!!

[kentuck14]

Wow! Dysfunction City!! Can anyone really repair such a place!? There may come a degree of forgiveness . . . but never forgetfulness for the way people warp each other with their utter disregard for other's lives.
T.

[Crowley]

Well I guess we all do have our dysfunctions...lol. Fond memories and utterly destructive ones each compete for our nostalgic tendencies. Thanks so much for the visit, I really appreciate it.

[Robert Trakofler]

well i'm sold... do the souls come with? Or do I have to start from scratch? never mind i got a bucket of them somewhere under the sink... i think. The front top step alone is worth the purchase of the house you just cant buy those anywhere these days. The it just is voice of truth in this is beautiful Crowley and the subtle inflections of discord speak volumes in these lines. So glad you kept your house in that box and opened it up for us! Fedora toss into a gust of your air so true good sir this is a great one.

[Crowley]

Total work of nostalgic fiction worked from the twice used nails of my memories and others memories, but we all fall in that radius under the tree where we can identify with the root, returning there unless we get shipped off to the nut house. Thanks BB!!

[Robert Trakofler]

:) I think maybe I am a walking nuthouse :)

[An owl on the moon]

This is such a powerful journey across the memories and the mind that reflects and remembers. Everything about your words just stirs the soul. Even your author's note caught me, to realize we live in these boxes, and even in death we are so often contained in a box. There is a whole lifetime of moments in your musings, my friend. Stunning.

[Crowley]

Thanks Craig, I do get a bit of nostalgia all balled up every once in a while, thinking of the ghosts of my past and the pasts of movies, stories and musings of others. Makes for a good piece of writing every once in while.

[Tate Morgan]

It is the notch in the wall where your brother fell and hit his head. The marks we leave on our houses that prove they were lived in Are the things that bring back memories. Just like the smell of baking cookies releases memories of Gammas house. Poetry works that way as well. It is also why we can remember the words to a tune long after ever hearing it. But we cannot remember a conversation.Life is punctuated by moments of emotion. You remember where you were when the white album came out and so on.

[Crowley]

You hit the nail on the head my friend as usual, thanks for the review and so good to see you!!

[Onlyme]

Aw, Crowly this is a masterpiece. beautiful moving, emotional and so heartfelt. I wanted to cry. On reading this one. As I was so wrapped up in the amazing feeling it projected and gave me. Profound.

[Crowley]

Thanks Girl!!! I appreciate that, glad you enjoyed!!

[Onlyme]

Crowley your a big softy at heart. hugs. Dawn.

[Julie McCarthy (juliesp..]

Gorgeous exquisite with fond pure memories I loved this thanks for the good read

[Crowley]

Thank you!!! Good to see you!

[emmajoy]

Such asides in this theatrical masterpiece, Corey. Have read great poems from you over the yearsbut truly think that along with quite a few others, this could be your best! So many hints, thoughts, dusty memories and radiant ones. Stains and sentiments mixed together, words and more. A brilliance set in great language. Sad - happy - memorable.

[Crowley]

Thanks Emma!!! Good to see you, hope you are well and that spring springs for you soon!! Headed on a River boat cruise from Bazel to Amsterdam in two weeks, so make sure all the countries across the pond give me good weather!!!

[emmajoy]

Hello, your post is wonderful! It's a brilliance, as said. Enjoy Amersterdam, there's a fantastic miniature village there, think called Madurodam or similar.. go see: Built in memory of a son. Can't guarantee the weather but will cross fingers.

[Ken Simm.]

I do wish I had such memories. but then nostalgia ain't what it used to be. A remarkable write that doesn't at any time fall into the trap of syrupy sweetness and in fact becomes a lesson on how these sepia toned memories should be remembered and written.

[Crowley]

Thanks Ken!!! An oldy but I do get caught up in the nostalgia now and again. thanks for the great review!!!

[barleygirl]

Your poem really conjures up the nostalgic sensations that a dwelling can encompass. You’ve caught this situation in the middle of coming & going, a transfer of nostalgia until it settles in to the new place. I love all the details you pack into this poem. You are truly an astute observer of lives lived & this is what makes your writing especially all your own style (((HUGS))) Fondly, Margie