Ode
Estate Sale On the Edge of Campus
1
At the rummage sale of life you left
An urn filled with your cat’s ashes
Books you said you had read
The monograph you didn’t publish
Postcards from Peru sent
By the TA who reported you
After that party on your porch
The night we all did Ecstasy
2
There are molecules of
The man I knew in the oxygen
Trapped in this backgammon box
The dice are missing
Some students try to use your
Stereo with the broken turntable
The needle cannot kiss the vinyl
Unheard music I remember
3
Pickers and lookie loos
Tramp down your lawn
The grass you planted
On your first sabbatical
Through the window I can see
Your diplomas stacked on the bed
The blanket you died in and
A box of cookies Not For Sale
4
The man who runs the register
Tells me he was once your student
He bombed your class on World War I
Before he dropped out of school
When I try to buy back a sauce boat
A gift I gave you years ago
He says my money is no good
For sentimental value
5
What is the half-life of your enamel pot
Scraped at dinners with the Dean
Was the inside lined with lead
Crazed with radioactive glaze
The orange flame color cannot fail
Tape baked on the bottom bears your name
Who knows what we need to know
If truth is beautiful where does it go
–Ticky Kennedy
Reclusive Poet in Residence
SchoolNewsToday.com
NOTE
“Along with furniture, clothing, jewelry, dishes, and other treasures sold at thrift stores and antique shops, you might find some items that contain radioactive material. Do not use ceramics like antique orange-red Fiestaware to hold food or drink. They can chip, and you can ingest particles of uranium with your food or drink.” The United States Environmental Protection Agency, Radioactivity in Antiques.
Also Read: Internet History Poem
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