Exhibition In Memory

Abstracts hang: sterling silver frames, matted in motif, celebrating Artist. An exhibit, ten years old, collects dust, forcing recollection. The mortuary – Boyhood Curiosity. Mother: Naked. Stretched. Stiff. Grey. Tin baking dishes engulfed the counters. Great aunts and second cousins crowded our sofas. Somber chatter and pats on the head stung. Clasping my girl’s hand, I twisted my door knob quietly. Their chatter continued. I escaped into her for my first kiss: tear salt and cherry lip gloss. Tuna casserole and ambrosia slopped into lunch boxes. The cold steel of fresh cut key tapped on chest, pulled the string around my neck, leaving a rash. I walked into our empty house. The walls echoed. Odor from cold spiral ham replaced aroma of fresh cookies and oil paint. Art followed Artist. Canvases were laid on the autopsy table, framed for their wake. Dressed in their Dynamic Blue, Electric Lime and Habanero Red, the dirging dead hang on wall.