Going Back To Manny's Father's House Poem by Louise Marie DelSanto

It is near empty. The closing is Monday
and the house still has 'good bones'
I could see myself many years ago, standing
in front of the dining room window,
my first formal picture with Manny
I remembered Christmas and how there
were always stacks of presents
in that corner by the bookshelf
Family at the table, pans of lasagna
and his father holding a baby
Kids on the couch, and his mother
cutting up a cake she just baked
We found an old tattered purse,
an old shopping list, and some
coffee cans full of pennies
The crucifix is still on the bedroom
wall, and a picture of an Autumn scene
that Manny finally took down.Goodbye
Crowningshield. No one is home. The
shades are drawn, and everyone is
somewhere else.