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Spring Cleaning

By on February 11, 2010 in Poetry

My daughter says everything in this house
has its own story
from great-grandmother’s quilt
and mother’s ruby depression glass
to things I once unwrapped
from white paper and ribbon
reserved for wedding gifts.

Each spring, when I open the house
to clean and wash and rearrange
I remember the stories
and whisper them away with the dust
to make the ghosts more comfortable.

©2010, Janet Taliaferro

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About Janet Taliaferro

I write novels, poetry, and short stories. In broad-brush terms, I have written about alcohol and drug addiction, and more importantly, recovery and the influence of twelve-step programs, incest, racial and religious tolerance, abortion, and war. In previous lives I was a political activist and business owner and have remained an avid Planned Parenthood supporter over the years. I graduated from Southern Methodist University and hold a Master’s Degree in Creative Studies from the University of Central Oklahoma, where I received the Geoffrey Bocca Memorial Award for graduate writing.
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2 Responses to Spring Cleaning

  1. Valerie February 13, 2010 at 11:06 am #

    I like this poem. I think it’s the grandparents house in Wisconsin and probably, simultaneously yours.

    I didn’t know you had a website! I have one too.

    Stay warm!

    • Janet Taliaferro February 18, 2010 at 1:22 pm #

      Hi, there. I’m formally replying although our e-mails are way ahead of this. Glad you found the web site, but with your boys, I’m not surprised.