Days Long Ending by Wayne Jackson

Days Long Ending

By Wayne Jackson 1950-1989

Days long ending
and nights softly passing
are pleasing to me still
The house sits quietly like a sighing friend
The familiarity of abstract objects…
an ashtray echoing soft notes of New Orleans,
and other such things as I have picked,
claiming them as mine
Possessiveness is not sinful.
Display it pridefully.
as obedient symbols of achievement
and things remembered and not to be forgotten.
A thousand dusty books casually
caress their shelves.
Each a friendly reminder that
while they do not change,
a person who once knew them so sadly often does.

Copyright © 1997 by Donald Wayne Jackson, All rights reserved