After her death,
We cleared out Mother’s house.
Among the found things were
A stained brown envelope with a marriage license from 1932
A jewelry chest full of baubles we never saw her wear
In with the baubles, wrapped in plastic, someone’s baby teeth
An old leather bound Bible we never saw her read
Pressed within its pages, a ringlet of hair, mine I am sure
A four leaf clover
A dried dragonfly
My baby picture, wallet size
In her ancient trunk,
A folded fur, musty smelling
A letter belonging to her mother, who had a lover, dated 1887
Inside the fur, opera glasses
A moth-eaten raggedy Ann (her childhood friend?)
Hat boxes without hats
In fuzzy black and white, she and Dad on the grass
And
A new brown envelope from the Hospital
She never showed us, never showed us.
All gone now.
Poignant and powerful…
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This a wonderful piece. Compelling and touching – beautifully written.
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Thanks so much.
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This tugs on the strings attached to the deepenest emotions. Such powerful imagery! I admire your writing style and would love to get your feedback on my work. Stop over at my blog sometimes, and feel free to utilize the post comments to share your thoughts. I am looking forward to reading your subsequent work.
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“A new brown envelope from the Hospital
She never showed us, never showed us.”
This is so poignant and devastating. Very moving.
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This is so beautiful
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This almost teared me up? Is it all true? I’m so sorry for your loss. And this line ‘In with the baubles, wrapped in plastic, someone’s baby teeth’, it just shows how pure your mother’s love was that she valued her child’s tooth as much as jewellery. Loved this piece!
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It was many years ago when we emptied my mother’s house.
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You must still be able to feel the loss to be able to express every memory so vividly. But then the loss of a loved one never goes away.
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So much love in the found things, so beautifully written, and so deeply touching.
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Thank you, Isabelle…the things that affect us so deeply come out in our writing.
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You’re so so right! How did you manage to speak my mind I wonder 🧐 Thank you!
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This is what I call consummate skill.
Reblogging this to my sister site, Success Inspirers World 🏆
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Thank you, Ana. Coming from you, those words are something I will treasure.
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Oh gosh that ending is really sad and you know I’m not sure sad is the word I’m looking for. It brought a bunch of emotions up in me. Really wonderful. 💜
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Thank you, Arbie.
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I really love this, Lee.
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Thank you, Deborah.
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Damn! I had a tear in my eyes while reading this.
So powerful I must say!
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Thank you so much.
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