the mess we left

 

What can we tell
from these pictures on walls,
jars filled with glass candies wrapped
in paper that cuts?
What do we know of those
who lived here, their secrets
in plain sight of passersby
the water-stained wall
the empty picture hook
the drawer full of broken glass?

Listen and you can hear
the uneasiness of a life never quite
cleaned up or put away
asking only for quiet,
a place to be left alone.

Perhaps if we sit and wait
these walls will spill open
to explain the sudden change.
For now let us stop
and sit amidst
the mess we left
and contemplate ourselves
reflected back at us
in a broken mirror.

 

©Daniel von der Embse