More on Ryesky

A BRIEF HISTORY OF FURNITURE
NO ONE WANTS

I will speak for Helene's living room furniture
Not me, RZD, but whoever is writing this poem.

We're at a storage facility, her last assisted
living facility at Rydal Park.

We were happiest at our home in Maple Glen PA
Huge trees sheltered the house she and
Aaron shared.
The leaves spun like ballerinas
from the trees.

What was it he had for breakfast?

A chorus of voices is heard behind me.
Yes, that's right. Cold cereal.

Her photos hung on the walls or leaned
comfortably on the ledge atop the stone
fireplace. Antonelli Photography
trained her.

She submitted photos to Stephen Perloff's
Photo Journal. Unabashed passion. And
to Doris's Art Matters.

All artists have seashells in their
living rooms. Why not? Only the sea
can create such a masterpiece

which of course Our Helene once was.
It was the getting older that did her in.
Or maybe the deaths of her children,
one by one.

She's in her new home now. A name like
Mawnatawny. Run by do-gooders. Where
will solace come from? I suggest
music. How bout Joni Mitchell?

I've looked at clouds from both sides now
From up and down and still somehow
It's cloud's illusions I recall
I really don't know clouds at all.

***
It is so important to keep our friends who live in nursing homes filled with hope and love. Helene has an excellent mind, but just the fact that her freedom is dreadfully impaired has made her give up on life and all her talents!

ODE TO HELENE

The fresh orange juice
tasted delicioso in
the clear glass cup
with handle

I should carry it all around
today just to imbibe its beauty

A magnificent vase, round as a
fishbowl, with tiny mouth on top
sits on my living room window sill
having befriended the other lovelies
who currently live there

Come sit with me a while
I'll give you the purple swivel chair
with ottoman, bearing two scissors
from your sewing drawer

The bright white hanging rack's
in my laundry room draped with
washcloths and linen napkins

So much abundance in these
United States.

If only I could think of something
to make you happy. Close your eyes
and think of the best days of your
life.

Wake up and write about it.
Pen or pencil will do.
I'll buy your book
on Amazon. Don't think I won't.

***
Just read in the Erickson Tribune - very well wrin, btw - that an orange a day reduces the chances of getting macular degeneration sixty percent.

***