Leadened Shoulders Poem by Diana van den Berg

Like the last swirl
of chiffon
in the dance
of the seven veils;

like a mourned leaf
brown-fading in slow-motion
into re-incarnated soil;

like the warn-out aftermath
of hysterical sobs
and a hollow-scraped heart
from a failed mission
to rescue a puppy
from a life of neglect;

like the scorched memories
of sunshine days with a daughter
who has despised her
for more than two decades;

like parents
who never were
although she didn’t know
what they were supposed to be;

like a house
robbed of its family
and wrenched into a business;

like the farewell sighs
of a fading day
slipping away
from a sky of wild-painted flames
into its rose-gold repose;

she shivered a burdened goodbye
and like a kiss that never was
she was ready to depart.