What once ruled the mantel
Now shrivels beside outcasts
Rust crawls toward the heart
Shredding all relevance
Abandoned aspirations
Achievements left unrecognised
Images remain unfocused
Whilst consumed by encroaching demise
The tarnished skeleton
Unveils an aspect of reality.
A youthful audience bears witness
As coarse inscriptions sing
A corrosive chorus.
Oct 8, 2016
Oct 8, 2016 at 5:33 AM UTC
What once ruled the mantel
Now shrivels beside outcasts
Rust crawls toward the heart
Shredding all relevance
Abandoned aspirations
Achievements left unrecognised
Images remain unfocused
Whilst consumed by encroaching demise
The tarnished skeleton
Unveils an aspect of reality.
A youthful audience bears witness
As coarse inscriptions sing
A corrosive chorus.
This describes an elderly person who has been abandoned in a rest home. They've refused to look at photos, achievements, memories, trophies... etc. because they remind them of when they were young and they only want to focus on how close they are to death. The person being described is in a similar situation to a trophy abandoned in a shed with paint tins, empty boxes... etc. It used to hold a lot of importance but now it's just another reject. The final stanza is a grandchild seeing what's become of their once loving grand parent.
