28 April 

Day 28 (2)

in the chamber - a kind of sestina

Because he was only a marriage uncle

and once removed, I write and score the reminiscence

The narrow double bed, its corners tightly folded,

the air refrigerated, an official marriage- long ago her other bedroom

The health and efficiency magazines in the bedside cabinet,

blueprints, and the wondrous Plimsoll line, Masonic secrets

Years served in the boiler room, welded to secrets,

risen to the rank and file of uncle

The ointment and ligament in the medicine cabinet

Her rising, singing in her neat, pink room

This is the minutiae of reminiscence 

The single husband man, strict drawings neatly folded 

Keeping the days edge-neat and folded

Learning the cramped routine of secrets

The skin and bone grown cold with reminiscence, 

when uncle worked for years at being uncle

The room was also repository, not just sleep room

There it is , the memory box , the cabinet

The tens green bottles, medication cabinet,

prescription with receipts, all sleeping, folded 

He keeps the tools of trade, quiet neat, in lullabyes in this room

And blankets for the baby unmade, secret

for he was never father, only uncle

And poor her, couldn't nurse a reminiscence

All the wives showed off bruised reminiscence

and stored their inside faces in a cabinet

It's my money to keep he said,  the distant uncle

keeping his regiments all tightly folded,

The mysterious order of misplaced secrets,

the grand book whispered inside its dusty throne room

This is twice removed, like an escape room

The past hurts, it locks in reminiscence 

Where, if you looked, were secrets-

the odd white teeth , smoke breath locked in a cabinet

Fold the expectations till they're folded

all gums no bite, the inconvenient uncle

He is this wife, this room- locks himself away , a secret cabinet

He is foreman of old knocks and reminiscence

He folds himself in two, this not mine Uncle