Implosion
Dr Linda L Bielowski
A turn of head
A twist of fate
And they were gone,
My buildings
My guideposts
My watersheds
Fallen into piles of rubble
Victims of TNT and the wrecking ball
Devoured by a vortex
And here, I thought they’d last
Be transformed into landmarks
These desecrated temples
The two-flat where lightning
Split the chimney
And thunder shook the foundation
Where I learned I was without a father,
Weak and small,
And different
Pa’s clinker brick bungalow
Constructed sturdy
With pride and care
By his sweat and calloused hands
Giving me the gift of friends,
Ballet lessons, a school nearby
A sense of safety and belonging
With room for imagination to stretch and grow
Decadent apartment house
Where my innocence and trust
Were stripped away
Ripped up
Like so many pieces of sullied clothing
Torn shreds hitting the wind
Entangled on a wire
Left me bare and bleeding
My Victorian castle in the air
Where I loved you
Until I lost me
The mattress unable to support
My longing
And the prayer room
In the rescue mission
Where I heeded His altar call
To seek and find my salvation
Nothing left
But a vast graveyard,
Devoid of markers
I cried
Until I became allergic
To my own tears
And salt trails scarred my cheeks
Until my heart became Jiffy corn
And popped away
My buildings,
A heap of ash and dust
Piled so high
It hits heaven
If only I could climb up
Like Jack And The Beanstalk
To find escape
And finger the clouds,
To reach a golden age
