The Woman in the Attic

The Woman in the Attic

behind the dress forms
behind the steamer trunks with pastel blankets
and mothball perfume
behind the cardboard castle
keeps the woman
protected, peering

and manfred manboy
aware and unaware
of the strange peerage
stirs the marbles
in an old wooden bucket

and among the unfresh
but wonderful smell of mildew
that took him to a thousand summer cottages
and an old dark crawl space

manboy ignored the dust and the spiders
and held a cat’s eye up to the bare light bulb

refracted color suffused his spirit
and he soared to unknown memory
where dress forms
held new hope
and blankets
held lovers in front of a warm winter fire.

The peering woman
watched in wonder
until manboy
returned the cat’s eye
to the bucket
and looking around sadly
turned out the light
and roared downstairs.