the rusty silver plate.

full.

it was always meant to be full.

working its way from last to first layer.

ninth layer death

eighth layer retirement

seventh layer grandchildren

sixth layer children

fifth layer marriage

fourth layer adolescence

third layer youth

second layer trust

first layer love

but then something happened,

someone happened.

their plate was not quite full yet,

so I shared with them my layers.

I gave

and I gave

and they took

and they took

down down down, 

straight to the first layer.

but when I looked up at them,

holding my last layer,

I saw nothing.

behind those eyes that I once saw light and future in,

they now just look empty.

and brown.

they take my last layer and I am left bare,

my plate is raw.

staring down at the mess they left

but all I see is my reflection

staring back up with me

with tears in her eyes and scars on her face.

I can no longer recognize myself

because they took everything from my plate

and left me to die.

empty.

it was always meant to be empty.

Reviews

[jacob erin-cilberto]

some just take, and the more we give of ourselves, the more they take...over and over and over.
I liked the Benjamin Button effect in the first lines...counting backward.
If we had it to do over, would we really be smarter from all of our experiences?
I do wonder!

Maybe an empty plate is not what it seems...maybe what is not there is what makes it the fullest plate.
j.