Chapter Text
The dilapidated cottage cowered
under the shadow of the mountain, long
stripped bare, structure standing still.
Windows bore no light, cracked and loose
in their frames. Cupboards now empty, never stocked
full. Water reed of the roof hung, stringy and sparse.
Old plaster pale, wallpaper
begging to be ripped from its wall,
a couple longing to be parted.
Ewe consumed by entangled undergrowth,
her woolen parka stolen and spun
to cover another’s bones. The mountain’s
weathered peaks stand tall, looming
under the glaring sun. Water lapped,
wringing words out against the raw dirt.
Swish, swish, swish.
His leather armchair sagged around the cheekbones,
wrinkles prevalent in worn skin. Her hollow
vanity desk, stripped down, stood naked with no
stool. Unvarnished wood floors scarred and bare,
saddened by the loss of the long-lost pair. Upstairs,
the bedroom clock lay still, the carpets thinned.
Mattress, a cradle for life, now sinks
in the middle, stained.
Her ribs finally protrude, flared out, dry
and porous, brittle and crisped. Vertebrae
once held hands, now separated and covered by old ewe.