I had only just begun to understand <br />the meaning of death when my uncle <br />died. Before him death was something <br />that happened to members of my family <br />that I had never seen nor spoken to. <br />They had died, and they had gone, <br />occasionaly they were brought back <br />for a while during a family dinner or <br />when the annual attic clearing took place. <br />Death held little importance, for they <br />never spoke of it, only speaking of the <br />time when departed where alive. <br />The day my uncle died mothers face <br />changed over night, it sagged and <br />hang like a wet flannel stuck to a bathroom <br />wall. Large bags formed under her eyes; <br />I remember thinking they were the place her tears <br />were stored, and when she cried they would <br />dissapear. Her whole face seemed to melt. <br />It reminded me of my Lego man, <br />after he had fallen from his castle turret <br />into our coal fire, Dad fished him out <br />and carried him like a new born bird. His permanant <br />smile, reversed- melted into a sad stare. <br />Every feature was turned into frozen hard yellow <br />droplets. That was what mothers face looked <br />like after my uncle died. After the Funeral <br />and after all the unknown well wishers had <br />drunk themselves sad, I took my little Lego mans <br />head off and replaced it with a smiling winking pirate <br />head. I then gave it to my mother- She like the Pirate smiled. <br />It was then I understood the power of Love.<br /><br />Not Long Left<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/death-of-an-uncle-and-the-melted-lego-man-2/
