THINGS I'LL NEVER THROW AWAY

THINGS I’LL NEVER THROW AWAY
(IN MEMORY OF MY MOTHER)

There are memories that come to me in the middle of the night,
When insomnia wraps like a cloud with a sharp and sudden bite.

Was I the son you’d hoped for, did I do all that I could,
To make your last days peaceful ones, meaningful and good.

Going through your papers, the bills that were past due,
The mystery of your finances and how I could have helped you.

Wondering if you’d reached the point where it all became too much a chore,
Despite the outward smooth veneer, the graceful smile you always wore.

For I was here to learn and you to teach,
Some puzzles remain out of reach
Like the paper bags strewn haphazardly across your bedroom floor.

Things you never threw away but kept behind closed doors.

The basement holds more questions that will keep to another day.
The cardboard boxes, poster board, and everything in disarray.
The magazines from years gone past,
Where everything is transient and nothing made to last.

The past comes rushing back to me in the night’s unending black
When insomnia like a scorpion viciously attacks.
But I am here and you are there, somewhere on your golden shore.
I miss your phone calls every night, their absence leaves me wanting more.

The concerts and the meals we shared,
the countless ways you proved you cared,
I’ll hold them in this heart of mine, for now and evermore.
The things I’ll never throw away, or keep behind closed doors.

-Bruce Potts
Copyright 2008
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED