Left Behind

I left them all behind
pictures of my children
my grandchildren too
I can only see their faces
in a frame of decaying memory

all my treasured books
languish in dusty bookshelves
living a quiet life, undisturbed
waiting for someone to read them
my high heels unworn, unmoved

I left behind, long dresses
silk lingerie, makeup, cosmetics
all the people I tried so hard
to surround with a cloak of love
fur babies placed in new homes

left behind, the cat who loved
my presence and my lap for naps
the doves whose coos soothed me
all the familiar, collected through
long, suffering, hopeful years

now there is nothing to do but
forget the things left behind
unwelcome memories that intrude
at the most inopportune moments
crushing my heart with pain

I would never go back again
even if I could for I am at peace
except those times the realization
that those I loved did not love me
my only regret, living a delusion
finally realized and left behind