Poem: Drive On

Drive On

After Robert Lowell’s, ‘The Old Flame’

Why not drive past

it’s been so long –

the children were young here

when things all went wrong.

Ease round the corner

unsure what I’ll see…

house and my studio

both precious to me.

Oh, shock, no not this –

it’s simply no more!

Double garden block now

for an architect next door.

But each room had leadlights

I’d crafted by hand!

Did the wrecking ball smash them

while clearing the land?

Everything’s gone…

no walls hold last words,

auctioneer’s hammer

or bottlebrush birds.

We’d left then and parted –

perhaps best it’s erased.

Designer dogs there now

leaving me dazed.

An end to the ending

just drive on and go…

swept clean of the grief

no one will know.

Kathryn von Bergen’s poem today is about her former home and purpose-built leadlight studio. She ran her Adelaide leadlight business, after carrying out such work in Zimbabwe, as the only person there making leadlights from salvaged and antique glass. She has also worked for acclaimed South Australian stained glass artist Cedar Prest on churches here and interstate, including Adelaide’s St Peter’s Cathedral. Details of an also varied career in education, can be found with her previous Poet’s Corner appearances 23 May and 13 June.

Readers’ original and unpublished poems of up to 40 lines can be emailed, with postal address, to [email protected]. Submissions should be in the body of the email, not as attachments. A poetry book will be awarded to each accepted contributor.