She put me on her mantelpiece,
a place I could watch the world –
Her world.
I’ve watched her through her happy days,
and sleep through thunder and hail.
She sang sometimes
and even cried.
Sometimes she shouted, but
That was alright.
.
She put me on her mantelpiece,
all those years ago.
.
Her loving eyes poured into me,
moments where I’d hold my breath,
and trace the new lines on her face
and new pendant around her neck.
.
She left one day,
a sunny day,
and she didn’t come back home.
Her parents packed,
boxed up the flat,
until her room became a place
I couldn’t call home.
.
Still, she put me on the mantelpiece,
a place I could watch the world.
She left me on the mantelpiece,
All those years ago.