On this side of heaven
by Elouise
On this side of heaven
Components are missing
Without which I am expected
To keep functioning
Albeit slowly and with effort
Especially in the white hot
Heat of summer sun
Boiling over into my veins
Weary muscles screaming for
Blessed relief
Outside I hear our neighbor’s
Lawn mower chugging back and forth
Droning its way through
This week’s crop of tender grass
Now rudely chopped and left
Lying in withering weather
Unable to cry out or scream
Enough is enough please
Let me rest in peace or go
To seed just one more time
Inside the air conditioner labors
Creating semi-civilized space
In which to sort through
Accumulations of a lifetime
Heaving and tossing what
Will never rise from the dead
In this life or we hope in the next
Dust flies in the face of reality
Only too eager to coat the past
With its tell-tail pall of powder
The last few weeks were a blur of doctor appointments, conversations with contractors, decisions about our bedroom reclamation project, and sorting through accumulated belongings.
So far, so good. We’ve managed to leave a respectable amount of livable space throughout the house. The actual work won’t begin right away. In the meantime, I’ve become allergic to keeping things around that have no clear purpose.
Not that we haven’t done this before. We have. But this time it feels different. Our late-70s have begun, and who knows how long we’ll have beyond that. So yes, I’m laughing and crying my way through bits and pieces I’d forgotten about, then letting them go. Feeling lighter with each fond, relieved, or I-can’t-believe-I-did-that farewell.
Cheers!
Elouise♥
© Elouise Renich Fraser, 17 August 2019
Cool male cardinal photo found at mix.com
Telling the Truth 
I am a huge fan of decluttering, probably because in my early 20s my life was necessarily transient. That has been followed up with coming to the rescue of several friends whose accumulation had brought them to a standstill. One woman had not been able to get into a particular room for five years. But after my brother’s death last year, and the subsequent twelve months of re-homing the many and varied collections he left me, I think I have now minimised my own space to the point where my personality is missing. Luckily, re-hanging some artworks (after walls had been repainted) has restored my equilibrium.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks for this comment. I grew up under the influence of my depression era parents. My father was the worst…as we discovered after he died and left scores of clothes and garden tools and nuts and bolts. All bought at bargain prices, many still in their wrappers. My mother wasted nothing, so her well organized closets and drawers were neatly arranged for easy access and actual use, especially with her sewing projects.
I’ve had acquaintances who were hoarders. Our downfall has been books and old academic papers and files! It’s a relief to let go of some of it, though we aren’t going whole hog yet. Putting up artwork sounds like a great way to maintain your own touch!
LikeLiked by 1 person
My brother and I experienced something similar. My mum (b.1919) was a single parent before it was common. She worked for a while until illness forced her on to welfare. We had very little. My brother went much the way of your father. Indiscriminate really. I’ve gone the other. But I do like to be surrounded by beauty.
LikeLiked by 1 person