Size isn't everything

Numbed after the funeral
she went back home alone.
To search the clutter of a man now dead
and clean out the trash in his garden shed.

Jamjars, cigar boxes and tobacco tins,
nails and screws and drawing pins.
Fuses, toggles and reels of sticky tape,
hooks, and springs and fishing weights.

Half-used candles and dried-up pots of glue,
spare motoring bulbs that never got used.
Rusty washers and waterproofing wax,
a pile of scrunched-up paper bags.

The old leaky taps from the kitchen sink,
a fountain pen and a bottle of ink.
These trivial things cause her to think of him,

and then she gently, quietly, starts to weep;

as she opens a little box inscribed -
' Bits of string, too short to keep '.

Reviews

[jacob erin-cilberto]

i have a dear friend who just recently, tragically lost her husband...even though this scenario doesn't match hers exactly...close enough to feel this one.
j.

[Pete]

clever and witty. a warm reminder of those whom we touch during life and the legacy we leave behind. those things we touched are the good stuff of life - the day-to-day bits and pieces that define a loyal life and faithful love ... :)

[Chris Shaw]

Didn't realise I had read your work before (a year ago) . Came upon this piece again and on second reading enjoyed it just as much. Accomplished writing with gentle internal and end rhyme. Tugs on the emotions this one does.

Chris

[Norman 223]

A truly moving picture of the memorabilia that can be found after a loved one dies. To me, the concluding bit of trivia was the most touching, as it implies the eccentricity of a mind that is failing. But subtle humour often includes pathos. Loved it!
N.

[Neville]

This is superb.. and reminds me so much of my Dad & for that alone, I thank you muchly and true.... N

[MAD ENGLISHMAN]

This poem is just perfect. My father passed away earlier this year and this poem perfectly describes what we found when clearing his home. Thank you for sharing.

[barleygirl]

This is a sweet mix of melancholy & laughter! I wondered how a poem about junk might end, but you managed to put the perfect bow on, in the last couplet (nice job!) I love writing that is packed with detail becuz that's what really makes things jump off the page, as does yours (((HUGS))) Fondly, Margie

[Wild Rose]

Oh such a moving poem
Got me thinking of our garden shed - Garage with boxes of assorted screws
Bike parts bits of wood used to protect items in the vice jaws

[Wild Rose]

When father in law died Mother came to live with us
What to keep, give away; sell, or throw
His car went to our son - hens were sold
clothes to charity (some of them)

Mum lived with us for 12 years > clothes went to the old folks home greatfully received - unworn jumper . nighties, knickers are always running out
Still use her nail file; read her books all her photos are now digital

[Onlyme]

The aftermath of a loved one funeral. And look at their belongings and remember them and the floods of tears flow. Heartfelt, raw and compassionately beautifully expressed and felt.

[Chris Shaw]

One of the saddest things you have to do after someone dies.i can remember reading my Dad's little diary, marked with all the family birthdays in his shaky writing. When I checked his wallet, it broke my heart. He had kept my name tag as a baby in his wallet for 39 years. Lovely poem you have written, albeit very sad.

Chris