“Gone”

My wife recently ended a job in a workplace she really needed to get out of for multiple reasons. It was a sad experience for her; she had invested a lot of work, time and emotion. This poem is for her.

Gone
One the wall is a square
Where a picture once hung
The paint all around it is faded
The spot was at one time
Protected from glare
Now all around it is dull and outdated

The cabinet sported
A silk rose arrangement
That never need water or sun
Now there is only
A shiny clean ring
From where dust bunnies never could run

The drawings are gone
That were made by young fans
Who followed her ‘round where she’d go
In crayon and pencil
Green skin, yellow eyes
And anatomy only children can know

The seat held her body
Her body her face
And her face, her angelic smile
And joyful exuberance
No one could replace…
They let it sit empty a while

Now some days when reverie
Comes unawares
One can almost still here her laugh
And a tear may break loose
Of a reminiscing eye
Saddened because of the gaffe