Its
beginnings … well
she
hoarded she did,
threw
nothing away,
everything
had its value,
nothing
was wasted,
might
be needed tomorrow…
In
the kitchen it started,
but
not as you might think
on
dirty old worktops
littered
with used plates
humming
malodourous,
grease
congealing the remnants
of yesterdays’
dinners cooked eons before,
nor
the myriad of cups of all shapes
and
all sizes solid with mould,
milk
soured & congealed & firm at their base.
Nor
in the sink stagnant its water,
globules
of grease floating idly atop,
no it
started in there,
that
place in the corner,
that
place in the corner
behind
that grubby old door,
the
door to the larder, the larder
where
she flung her old foodstuffs
or
anything unwanted anything definitely dead;
oozing
sprouted potatoes liquefying in plastic,
chewed
bones from the roast & her mouldy old bread,
anything
rotten or rotting, her meds never swallowed,
Tigger the old cat, dirty broken old
dentures
and
stuff from the downstairs commode
(you’d
rather not know).
And
the sun and the heat and the air did its thing…
isn’t
life beautiful?
Came
the time when her worried son visited
for
it was time for that talk of where
she should live.
That talk of the need of a care
home for her needs
far
outstretching the care he could give.
Tommy
came too
(her
delightful young grandson)
and
he baulked as she hugged him, hugged him
ever so close
to her bony old chest,
and
(he) wanted to vomit as her dentures
clacked
as she kissed him, and squirmed
as saliva wetted his tiny horrified lips.
(And oh how he quivered, he quivered,
poor
little terrified mite,)
Go now said his father
and
he willingly did so,
wandered
the hall to the kitchen
and
opened that door.
That door to the larder
where
new life was pulsating,
and
inquisitive he, he sat on the floor.
In
its glutinous puddle a potato thing
eyed
him with its mean green solitary eye,
its
orifice bursting with her dirty old dentures,
and
terrified he, he knew he should run,
but
so wanted so needed to touch it
and
touch it he did.
It
bit off his finger and ran up his arm,
'granny' kissed him wearing the most terrible smile,
and
terrified he peed at the moment his heart stopped
(poor
little mite (paying the price of an inquisitive soul!)).
And
potato thing, bloated with blood & hungry for humans,
grinned
and opened its mouth and swallowed him whole.
Anna
:o]
Susan’s
prompt at Poets United is that of the word Beginnings
and above is my offering. Cheers for
the inspiration Susan!
10 comments:
I'm totally cracking up. Horrifying! A rollicking delight of terror! And I, who can't even watch horror movies, enjoyed every minute of it. I'm happy you had fun with this prompt (sorry it's true).
O My Anna!! You dragged me to the scene. O My :D
gorgeously ghastly and terrifyingly terrific Anna - wondered where this was going and followed every line with bated breath - you have stepped in the shoes of Hillaire Belloc
I agree with the above - gorgeously ghastly...........like watching The Hoarder, one is sickened but cannot look away. This is really wonderful work. I am a Cleaning Machine, a bit OCD, so it was a delightfully painful read. Bravo! Way to entertain during poetry month.
What an awful and delightful tale!! I loved it!
I thoroughly enjoyed this... what a conflict between humor and ghastly... well done
This is so gruesome; yet I was able to smile at the end of it all
much love...
Oh, my - what a horror story. But there's something darkly amusing about the idea of dying because of false teeth!
Terrifyingly hilarious. Love this, Anna!
Oh dear me! Many of us face, to some degree, struggle with the desire to keep things because we think we may need them later, or because we want to preserve the memories associated with them. But, this one really had a hoarders'brain...LOL...
Everyone needs help but, most often, the patient—the hoarder—is identified as the sick one!! And once that happens, it seems, the "judging" begins.
Enjoyed reading this poem so much, Anna! Thumbs Up!!
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