Mouse Hairs by Moonlight

[Eric Ashford]

Out-built, humped, and beached, breached by moonlight,
nothing comes out of an old barn unfound.

Engine oil, the fungal fur of time warped wood.
Weather-eaten iron coated by rusted smears.
mouse hairs that rise upon old horse leather.

The green metallic wine on tin cans
a devolved acropolis of tractor parts put aside
for a thousand nights to seek and hide.
Gaskets strewn where tangles bloom.

Nothing lingers long without leaving its print
nailed to the air.
Possum pelts patch-work timbers into skin-deep quilts.
Tobacco smoke and sweat, the turpentine film of the
once varnished, the once cherished.

Treasures bolted to a deathless sleep, well rubbed
tackle and tools harnessed now to a tumbled-down dust,
a sun-frayed flap of light slipping in and out
as if time could be fixed and torn shadows mended.

[Gyppo]

Very vivid, Eric.

I've seen this barn a few times, in different places.  And long disused garages with the same aura of history and a very slow decay, as if time is moving a little slower than the world outside the walls.

Sometimes it feels as if the dust, having spent years accumulating, is reluctant to lift when disturbed by an intruder.

Gyppo

[Mark]

What an intriguing and bold title. Very descriptive word pictures with olfactory effects.
Like Gyppo, I've been in this shed too, that sense of oil and dust accumulating as grime, slowing down time if not the decay. Stuff that was put down by someone not realising it was the last time. Absorbing read. 

[AlienFlower]

Eric, this is captivating. I especially like the movement from less to (in the last six lines) greater emotional involvement, making the last two lines all the more powerful.

 

Jackie

[Eric Ashford]

Thanks for this thoughtful comment Mark and share. Appreciated.

[Eric Ashford]

Hi Alien Flower, obliged to you for this warm review.

[Eric Ashford]

Hi Alien Flower, obliged to you for this warm review.

[Eric Ashford]

Hi Gyppo, thanks for this insightful commentary.

[indar]

So much going on in this one. First and foremost is how it appeals to the senses. The internal rhymes and rhythm almost pound the images home. As a matter of fact, I am feeling compelled to go out and clean my garage.