by Lisa Huddleston
MOVING DAY
Moving out, moving day, moving on
moving the memories of 22 years
to the basement
to wait for another day
Boxes of rocks and starfish
legos and puzzles
coins and books
dusty model airplanes and
carefully assembled vessels of Star Wars
long forgotten
Treasures and artifacts
of yesterday
repackaged in Rubbermaid tubs
and moved from the closet
to the basement
for now
And this is a good thing
very good and very right
hard on a mother’s heart
but good for the boy now man
Making room for treasures unseen
opening a space for today
and putting the past in its place
the basement
And I must do the same
move the pictures of the boy in a too big ball cap
talking and dreaming and building and collecting
and store them in dehumidified safety
like rocks left in a special hiding place
under the living room chair
Not forgotten
not entirely removed
but no longer in the way
of the future
or the vacuum cleaner
or today