She wanders forlorn
through things forgotten
Rustic scenes and restless dreams
A bereft farmhouse in sad repose
a clothesline without any clothes.
Echoes of machinery clatter
busy voices: workday chatter.
Lilac bushes overgrow a lane
untended garden, empty again.
The brutality of time is there
making her, all too aware.
Now, in a sudden sweep,
only memories left to keep.
The leave-taking nearly complete,
the left behind is bittersweet.
By Colleen B. Rintoul
© 2012