The aftermath .....

The basement has been removed of everything.
Nothing was spared.
It was all contaminated.

It was heartbreaking.
My Mothers things.
My Grandmothers things.
My Brothers things.
What was left of lives once overflowing with life.

Stuff.
Accumulated from years and years.
Some was irreplaceable.
Some of it was junk.
All of it contained history.

I have an empty place underneath my floorboards,
and another one in my heart.

Life moves along.
I will accumulate and fill that empty place under my floorboards,
but what of the one in my heart?