The Drabble Challenge

THE SHELF

THE PROMPT ;;
❛ At a garage sale, your character buys an antique urn that might look nice decorating a bookcase. But when your character arrives home, your character realises that there are someone's ashes in it...

GENRE ;;
Poetry

AUTHOR ;;
chaelattae

TRIGGER WARNINGS ;;
N/A

+

there's a shelf in my house that is empty and bare
and i wonder if i could find something to fill
the hollow space staring back at me, so i
leave my home and wander about, and
find myself here.

there's an urn made of silver in this dusty garage
and i think it'd look quite lovely in
the desolate shelf i have at home, so i
pay a cheap price and get a paper bag, now
i bring it back.

there's a cover on the top of my new decoration
and curiosity sits in the front of my mind
i feel the cool metal beneath my fingers and
lift the cover off, my eyes are met with
a pile of ash.

there's darkness in the bottom of my silver vase
and i can't help but wonder about life
not my own, but the one that used to belong
to the ashes that now rest in the antique
i hold in my hands.

there's a lake in the north
and i imagine a child with timid breaths and
tense shoulders, staring at the rippling waves
he's afraid, but he closes his eyes and
dives in.

there's a desert in the south
and i imagine dry land and wet eyes that
search for shade in the relentless light but
his rest will require a journey
so he walks.

there's a mountain in the east
and i imagine cold winds but a warm smile and
strength in his gaze as he watches the sunset from
high above, he never thought he'd make it this far
yet here he stands.

there's a shoreline in the west
and i imagine bare feet and necklaces made of seashells, a
wise man watches as a child nervously tests the waves
there are creases around his eyes when he smiles at her
and takes her hands.

there's a shelf in my house that's no longer empty or bare
a figure made of silver sits, within it is a life once lived
years of smiles and tears, that belonged to a nameless character
a life now forgotten, but
it makes for good decor.

A/N: I was really happy to be invited to participate! I tried really hard to make an interesting poem, but poetry is no longer something I do often, so it was very difficult. I had a lot of fun doing it though! Thank you for the opportunity

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