Empty Apartment

EMPTY  APARTMENT   

Paid  the  realtor’s fee
Collected key and learned how to jiggle it - 
Some lock problem - corrosion in  salt air.
In the silence of my own thought
Previous life in these rooms speaks of 
Views of the  clouds and sea.
Nothing much else to see, just think about 
Their own childhood memories.

Drawers  with  screws  nails  and nylon  line -
That’s out -  my own junk in. 
Shelves with a few  books  
“Cooking  Fish with an Electric Wok”   
and  “Teach Yourself  Serbo-Croat”,
and one ice-skate.
That lot goes in a bag for the junk store.
Make room for  my own geology maps and 
Collected   Thomas  Hardy   novels.

Cigarette  ash,  empty chip bag,  crumpled chocolate  wrapper.
These people must have had  serious  teeth and lung problems.
Kitchen cupboards with packets of soup and instant coffee -
And yet  they used a wok ?! ( Like  Jeckyl and Hyde. )
Chuck out their rusty can-opener
Put in my own rusty can-opener.

Table will be better under the window.
That round rug they could never decide where to put  - 
I’ll  put it in the back cupboard  -  hideous colour.
Curtains have to go too  - wouldn’t  be seen 
Dead with curtains like that.
Some people have the weirdest  taste.
Copyright © | Year Posted 2010

Poem

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Poet Avatar
December 16, 2010 at 5:09 AM
You have drawn a beautiful image of the empty apartment Sydney.Goodluck for the contest-kashinath
Brown Avatar
December 16, 2010 at 4:12 AM
Enjoyed reading your poetry today Sydney. Wishing you the best in the contest. Love, Carol
Sweetheart Avatar
December 15, 2010 at 7:43 PM
Excellent entry Syd ..good luck into the contest.. your empty apartment is alive with hope and some past memories too.. thankxx for clarification on VERY MERRY... which I thoroughly enjoyed luv... good luck with luv in this contest by Matt..
Devonshire Avatar
December 15, 2010 at 1:57 PM
You gave us some good chuckles in your poem, Syd. Kept thinking the realtor should have had the apartment cleaned out before handing you the key. It must feel odd to enter such a place and wonder what the previous occupants were like. (Hopefully not Jeckyl and Hyde, but the wok through me for a loop too. A fun entry for the contest and I wish you luck. Love, Carolyn
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