No matter how much she tries
to cover it up
or change it
or redecorate it,
it will always be there.
That empty space
where he used to be.
Take away him
and there are all of the reminders -
chairs and habits and things
that are hard to ignore.
Yet push those aside
to try to forget,
to gain some mockery of normalcy
and the spaces where they used to be
remain, empty
like so much else since that day.
And still there will be
the empty words
on letters with his name,
in voices on the phone.
In truth, all of the re-arranging
of house and life is in vain -
she will still sense the emptiness
no matter how many colors of paint she uses
because it will always be inside of her
and that is much more difficult to redecorate.

12/27/2002

Posted on 12/28/2002
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