Mary (Alix)

My mother’s Mary looks out over books, pots, odds and ends

her wooden features softened by the years

watching our lives spread out into her kingdom.

This room and its idol witnesses together.

They watch our books, pots, odds and ends gather

our lives held within four walls and the eyes of a statue.

We fold away our pasts into boxes

store our memories in labeled zones:

joyful summer days in one corner

fights and hollow reconciliations in another,

reduced to piles and labels and furniture

with plenty of room to spare.

I wonder if I knelt amidst the books, pots, odds and ends

to pray to Mary’s fading impression

if she could spread the piles out into the corners of our house

and make it feel like home again…

My mother’s Mary watches our lives culminate here,

our climax held within four walls and the heart of a statue.