Julie McElhone #19 Mantelpiece (after Moyra Donaldson)

Sister of eaves

and altars, you carry weighty things

collected, curated, caught,

dumped or bought.

And ashes too. Yes, you

keep them in place

so I don’t have to. Dust

coats with dead skin, I hear,

layers

covering things that I don’t dare:

a white vase fanning 

useless for flowers,

a bird that’s in flight for hours,

another is a tea-light holder

(If I should find its birdie twin

that kissing pair unite again),

a figure made of toilet roll

and sticky tape by my kid. 

There’s more much more

and memories are bullish.

But I see them now 

they pull my eye 

up off the ground

containers, jugs and trays,

things to hold old days

and keep my mum around.