Rummage Sale Rumination

by Katherine Flannery Dering


My wedding dress hung from a pipe
in the basement for forty years

while the headpiece hid, nestled
in tissues on a closet shelf.

Within the yellowed plastic bag
and dilapidated box, the two

are surprisingly well-preserved:
Dorian Gray; I am the portrait.

Chiffon and lace now a space ship through time.
Memories arrive at the speed of light:

organ music, painting a yellow kitchen, crying,
whiff of tomato plants and fresh dirt,

a car’s rear lights in the driveway.


* * * * *

Katherine Flannery Dering writes poetry and prose and lives in New York State. She has published a mixed-genre memoir, Shot in the Head, a Sister’s Memoir a Brother’s Struggle (Bridgeross). Her poetry chapbook, Aftermath, was published by Finishing Line Press. She holds an MFA from Manhattanville University.
 
Her website is www.katherineflannerydering.com, and she is on Facebook as Katherine Flannery Dering, author.