Probably Should Have Applied for a Building Permit

    
Construction began    
in the months after death    
took my mother    
as my father packed her things    
and gave them to me    
laying the foundations    
each a few feet tall    
   
These unassuming cardboard towers    
hold the contents of a life    
time capsules of memories    
I haven't been ready to open    
   
So familiar now    
they're almost out of sight    
but a strange comfort    
to know they're waiting    
and I don't mind    
the space they take    
   
I've often thought they're done    
then he'll surprise me    
with another story to add    
   
The most recent one remained in the foyer    
for some unknown number of days    
daring me to open it    
instead of being placed on the pile    
   
Its contents included silly socks    
a fancy Christmas stocking    
odds and ends from her memorial service    
and a contract for the still-empty    
mausoleum crypt drawer    
purchased nearly a decade ago    
   
I sat, still, staring at it    
remembering the day    
he showed me the location    
following another family funeral    
before shaking my head    
at all the time that's passed    
and laughing    
because what else do you do    
when you notice the sale date    
was also your birthday?