by Richard Godwin
The sun is dying on the terrace
As the leaves decay
On our
Abandoned lawn
And I watch my
Marriage fall apart
I tinker with the wreck of
An old car
That lies at the edge of a field.
It will never see the road.
My wife,
In name only,
Informs me she has taken
A lover.
‘To hell?’, I ask.
She looks away,
I look with disinterest
At her veiled cyanic eyes
And try to find the shape
Of the love I once knew.
She shops.
She looks absurd.
And I mock her.
She knows no end to vanity.
She always was a
Simple child
Doted on by
Deluded parents.
And then one day,
In a house full of packed boxes
I find
A trinket.
I see her walk away
Along the drive
With some part
Of my soul in her overburdened heart.
Asphodel Madness 2.0 
Beautifully written, Richard. Left me hanging on every line. And the change of tempo at the end, when the narrator realises what he has lost, is stunning. Simply stunning.
Wonderful.
Such a sad scenario but one described so very well. I felt the despair and heavy heart.
The symbolism of “The Trinket” to be is the possiblity of a new beginning or memory of love gone by. Well penned …
Richard Godwin is the true writer! He can write both poems and stories and win the hearts of his readers. Sometimes he chills those hearts with fiction and sometimes with his poetry he causes those same hearts to leap with joy!
Well done, Richard. I like the use of the car, the way it suggests the metaphor of the relationship that is no longer “alive”, lost shared future between the spouses.
Richard, This is really beautiful. Finding the trinket, does it remind of what is gone or add a sense of finality. You let the reader find the answer in their own heart. Well done.
Simply beautiful, as a reader I feel every word, every ounce of pain and loss. Richard Godwin is an incredible writer.
Fantastic writing that cuts to the core just as poetry should. Magnificent as always Richard…
A tender poem. Reminded me of a Tindersticks’ song – She’s Gone.
Hey Richard. Love the way each stanza ratchets up the action until the last one when, in my mind, the scene goes all slow motion and distant as the speaker sees _everything_ walking slowly away. Favorite (if I have one) stanza is the tinkering with the car one. Fixing something hopeless but not even trying with the marriage. Good stuff buddy.
I like the way a simple yet charming narrative brings us to the subject matter itself. The “trinket”, I feel, is nicely juxtaposed with some rather amibivalent feelings towards the woman and provides the summation of a failed relationship.
The man is a wealth of talent, takes a lot for me to enjoy poetry as it makes me balls ache, not in a good way, but lines like those are special. “It will never see the road.”
One poignant trinket that last look. And a pretty chain of words that it hangs on : )
Very emotive ,real talent here .Im going back to read again
Heartfelt indeed. Bittersweet.
Since the narrator mocks his wife and looks at her with disinterest, says she is simple and suggests she takes lovers only to hell I find myself wondering whether he wasn’t the reason she left … definitely an unsympathetic character no matter how poetically he describes her!
This was simply heartbreaking. Well done Richard.
Wonderful writing Richard, very ‘visual’ writing. Could imagine the scenes. Thank you
I do not disagree with you!!!