Unloved, Unkissed
written by: Deirdre Carney
Unkissed, unloved,
I have lain alone
Half the nights
Of my life.
The only girl
The lucky one
In a single room
Coveting brothers’ and parents’
Warm, shared sleep.
The widow
Still sleeping
On the side that was mine
While you breathed
Beside me.
The mattress we slept on,
Our creation,
Lies a ruin.
Craters, lumps and stains
Remembering us,
I will cover it
With a plastic sheet
As it waits
For collection tomorrow.
It will rot.
I wake in my silence
And cannot tell
If it is not yet dark
Or already light.
Deirdre Carney enjoys her retirement living, reading and writing in a station house on the Far North Line in the Highlands of Scotland. She is currently writing a collection of poems inspired by memories of people who are no longer in her life.
