The Truth of Things

The Truth of Things 16/03/2019

How old were you

when you first unearthed the truth of things,

saw through the illusion youth creates,

realised that time will never wait

for you or I?

I look around this empty house,

the unread books upon the shelves,

the piles of ancient magazines, 

the unworn clothes, the blacked-out screens

of broken electronic things,

the old cellphones that do not ring,

the dreams you learnt to push aside

to make room for unrelenting life.

How old were you 

when you first found out the truth of things,

put your old ambitions to one side,

allowed yourself the luxury of 

wasting time?

I look around this cluttered room,

the flowers that have lost their bloom,

the pile of papers by your chair,

the train that you were mending there,

the unsaid words, unspoken thoughts,

the things that money never bought,

the love that you prioritised

that fills this home where you lived your life.

And here’s the rub:

you no longer know the truth of things -

it’s denied by age, and brain, and time.

Now the knowledge of the truth of things

is only mine.

Jennifer Pickup