This is the latest version I posted, Mike. I think this will stay except
maybe for some future tweakings. Thank you for all your comments and response.
Sue
Old Sins
Wearing tattered shrouds,
they slide into the graveyard of my dreams.
Grass moves where they move,
and Spanish moss sways
without a breeze as they pass.
You can't outlive us, they say.
We never die. And from the cavern
of memory they rise with false faces
and painted smiles. Once I knew them well,
held their hands, for they were friends.
Now, old sins glide through empty rooms,
smell of decay. Where little is left--a chair,
a candle stub-- they drift, elemental as pain,
to touch the rockers upon the porch
or move the swing with its rusty chains.
When fall chills the heart with needles of rain,
they stay, settling like dust, faded, gray,
until spring mists the hills with green,
and pear trees spread white sails.
No one sees them go;
the wrought-iron gate swings close.
Doves call, voices like waterfalls.
Sue Scalf
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