…On Poetry and Fiction
Just “One Word” Away (“Cupboard”)
written by: Phyllis P. Colucci
@FictionTarot
One word becomes one idea, becomes one sentence, becomes one poem, becomes one story. It must start from just “one word”. Today my one word is “Cupboard”.
CUPBOARD
When “The Cupboard is Bare”, are we talking about food or life? What lies behind closed doors often times teaches us lessons about life that may truly satiate our hearts and souls, and sometimes sadden us deeply. Life is a metaphor which we recognize as we age. Once we figure out the message, our “Cupboard” is no longer bare. It is full of emotions, both happy and sad, that will take us from childhood to adulthood. It’s all about the journey.
CUPBOARD
As a child, I recall hearing it said
The term that frightened me so
But I was too innocent and shy, of course
Too unsophisticated to know
The term which echoed “The Cupboard is bare”
Turned my joys into worry and woe
I pictured it dark and void of fare
I would only peek inside on a dare
I was a juvenile – simple and so unaware
But I guess I needed to be right there
I feared no food for the family to eat
I feared we may never rise up on our feet
But my fear turned to strength
as I coped with defeat
and I learned rather quickly
‘twas not always a treat
My heart was sad, the tears did fall
Yet I had no understanding of it at all
So curiosity pushed me to open doors wide
My stomach panged; I stood there and sighed
But my soul was hungry; I felt denied
All was forsaken in the “Cupboard” I’ve known
How I wished I was taller and fully grown
I winced as I smelled the awful decay
I prayed to the Lord it would all go away
Instead I was chilled right down to the bone
Surely something had died there, scared and alone
Something was wrong inside those doors
My skin cried out from bleeding sores
Tarnished handles – Sticky and aged to the hilt
Such dampness, such dust, eroded to silt
In childlike manner I looked within
Chipped paint, rotted wood all wrapped in sin
But open it wider, I surely did do
In hopes I’d find something bright and anew
Oh Yes! It was dark – to my chagrin
I was forced to embrace it with a grin
My soul taunted me to see with wide eyes
To understand truth and to understand lies
Then one day the term “The Cupboard is bare”
no longer meant what I originally thought
It was all just a metaphor, a lesson in life
To learn as I should; to learn as I ought
Which details of life had suddenly left me…
Wildly curious; painfully distraught
It had nothing to do with tarnished handles,
So sticky and aged to the hilt
It had all to do with existing on earth
full of love, full of woe, full of guilt
It had nothing to do with dampness and dust,
chipped paint or rotted wood
It had all to do with aging and fear
as I entered a world of Adulthood!
NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR:
The “Cupboard is Bare” is simply a metaphor; another of life’s lessons. In this Poem, it is all about the journey of growing up from childhood into adulthood.
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