A Happy Ending

​I should like to leave this world
visibly mended
pearl-embroidered patches
crafted with golden thread
onto my heart and mind

my house a royal mess
of tasteful antiques
and tacky cast-offs
sprinkled 
with the latest gadgets

in the attic
a cardboard box of old love letters 
for the kids to cringe
and marvel
that I had a life before them

the basement workshop
half-baked designs
flights of fancy
and doomed experiments
(but the improved pomegranate peeler
 actually works)

the larder left open
for the cat
he should be good 
for at least a month

deep inside the wine cellar
(it's really just a cupboard)
behind the plum brandy
- the other one - the good one
there's a note for you

you know me
you knew me
you were there at the end
it was worth it