The Gift Of The Empty Hand (edit #3)

[ellajam]

The Gift of the Empty Hand (edit #1) i think the original title was stronger

You left without your things.

Eighty years of salvaged scraps sorted-
saved- alongside Twain, Cayce, Eliot;
illegible religious tomes and old issues
of Archeology, New Yorker and Science
each with one article you couldn't trash.i like this line, doesn't really save the stanza but it makes if better
Closets stacked with antique picnic baskets
and almost working vacuum cleaners,
Polaroid cameras in their striped boxes,
stacks of photos you caught and that caught you. cheesy.

When the ocean stole it all you gave
your grinning voice: not quite enough syllables but you get the idea?
"It's just stuff."
My arms are full of empty,
free to hold today.


The Gift of Loss (original)

You left without your things.

Eighty years of saving
sorted, labeled, ready for reuse.
Bookshelves crammed:
Twain, Cayce, Eliot,
religious tomes in languages
the rest of us couldn't read;
favorite issues from the weekly deluge
of magazines on every subject.
Closets stacked with picnic baskets
and fixable vacuum cleaners,
Polaroid cameras in their striped boxes,
photos of you, us, them.

When the ocean took it all you came, grinning,
reminding me "They're just things."
My arms are full of empty,
free to hold today.

Thanks for returning Q, maybe it's salvageable, we'll see, One step forward, two back. I'll take your comments into the next edit, very helpful.