The tea went cold

The tea went cold.
That was the first I knew about it.
The day it all collapsed
Castle back to sand
With the torn-cloth smile of a sad ragdoll,
resigned to the attic and dust.

An empty house, with the phone off the hook,
And the tea gone cold.
Keys in the back door still, swinging.
Quietness collecting on the carpet.
And the awful knowing then
What they told me later.

Fear like a slow-dripping tap
Insanely loud.
Me in the kitchen
Holding my breath.

And the tea gone cold.
The first I knew about it.
The day it collapsed.
That day she collapsed.
The first I knew about it!
Castle to sand
With her torn-cloth smile
And her too-brittle bones
Consigned to the ashes and dust.