our old house has new folks
and so... now we are ghosts
no one sees although we lived
here barely 12 years ago
morning mists cling to us
ghostly as nights of regret
our older selves are yet silent,
uncertain, unknown outside
we find we forget to exhale
are reminded there are no
songs in sighs and although
not quite death, cold-ness
takes away our breath, leaves
us to mourn a different lack
of warmth despite being back
__________
Note: I felt a bit strange walking on our old street in Yellow Springs early in the day. I think I imagined that a neighbor or two would be out and that we'd have a warm impromptu reunion. I had plans with friends later in the day, but wanted the chance encounter too! Speaking of friends, I'm ordering a few copies of Rebecca Kuder's Dear Inner Critic Workbook to give as Christmas presents.
____________
Pic: Our descent into Glen Helen for a long hike yesterday. Back in the day, when we lived across from the Glen, I feel we solved many of our parenting dilemmas and disagreements over a walk through these woods.
10 comments:
Rob and I drove through our old neighbourhood last time we were in Calgary and it was strange. I expected to see someone I knew standing out in their yard, but didn't. I also expected to be very emotional and I wasn't at all, which was VERY strange.
Take care
It's odd, isn't it? You feel a sense of belonging, yet there's nothing there to belong to anymore. It's hard to accept that you're Past and it's Present. All the life moved with you.
The poem is good at capturing the ghostly feeling--the sense of walking in the mist/midst of memory, there but not quite.
I find it even more emotional than I thought it would be to be in North's housing co-op, as we were when we dropped them off on Sunday. I lived there for a year and a half and the place is seeped in memories.
That's surprising for sure, Nicole... Moving was so hard on you...
Thank you
I like "mist/midst"!
I'm having a tough time writing, Nance...
I can imagine how fraught it must be, Steph... Does it fluctuate with how you're feeling about the drop off itself? <3
Moving away is so hard. As a carpet cleaner in the South Bay, I have witnessed several peope preparing to move away. The families do often seem more somber than most clients.
Beautiful photo and beautiful poem!
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