Change of Decor

[Delta40]

The chipped ceramic vase
tossed out of its home
is crushed as the garbage
truck swallows
binfuls of memories.
You try to forget your age
and kick china to the kerb.
Ditch the teaspoon collection
and brandy set.
All those yellowing books
pile on top of tarnished silver
and grinning toby mugs.
Strip the place bare
and sprinkle clumps
of dried nothings
across some throw cushions.
A plug in air freshner will
revamp the new space.
Sprawl on a fashionable rug
or light an aromatic candle.
Hide the family photographs
so they don't blot out the
light airy space
You are your only company.
Nothing left behind.
No substance.
Transparent cupboards.
replace dusty shelves
Disrobe them all then stand
naked in the middle of
the empty house.

[MorpheusSandman]

Remove "cover the void of your heart" and "Nobody should be / weighed down by a lifetime / of memories" and I think you have a strong piece here. The thing about those lines is they directly say what you're already metaphorically saying with all of the strong images. I might remove the last line too; It might be interesting to mention the "home" aspect early on to let the change to "house" echo more subtly.

[deryk]

Garbage has so much potential in poetry, I think. I love it when people realize that in their poems, because it often contains the signature of the characters better than anything else can. I agree with MorpheusSandman on the lines that are overly telling. The ending where we discover the character has discarded themself even, carries a lot of emotional weight, sort of like a sublime unravelling.

[Amylian]

lol, I loved it...!! I don't know, in a way it just flashbacked some memories and it feels nostalgic...!!

[Amylian]

Well, I guess as much as we like to express emotions in poetry, we need objects and garbage is nonetheless an object...(:

[PrinceMyshkin]

Those last three lines had a very strong emotional effect on me, especially after I'd grown somewhat blase over the specification of so many of the discarded objects.