Jingle asked us to write about pastimes this week for Poetry Potluck. I love going through this box of treasures, so much that I put it in the chapbook (shameless plug, see right column!).
Hope it gives you a smile! Amy
THE PRECIOUS BOX
My mother’s “precious box” held sentimental doodads
The box was left to me when she died
Inside were Grandma’s fake diamond screw-back earrings
(“Real ladies” didn’t pierce their ears in those days)
Grandpa’s ring, raw turquoise set in carved silver
Girl Scout leader pins, Dad’s cuff links
A clip-on bow tie from Mom’s singing days
And a skeleton key, antique silver, dim patina
For years I’ve pondered what lock would respond; where the “open sesame” lay
A room in a past apartment? The front door to a secret house?
A desk filled with dusty volumes of Kipling and Whitman
Perhaps a cache of cash?
Somewhere there is a house, a door, a drawer
Whose treasures will remain hidden
Because I hold in my palm
The answer to a question
© 2010 Amy Barlow Liberatore/Sharp Little Pencil
Sharp Little Pencil 
Bill Sigler
Deceptively simple, and poignant. Nice details. There is so much value in these things that are hidden away, but also so much mystery as to what is still hidden.
Sharp Little Pencil
Thanks for stopping by, Bill. I wrote the articles from memory – didn’t even have to get the box out; that’s how often I engage in that pastime! And yes, the value of what is hidden, the mysteries to be revealed. I also have Mom’s purse and treasure her St. Teresa medal, even though she wasn’t Catholic, she held it dear.
Amy
liv2write2day
I love poetry that focuses on details and memories and this does the job. And the reflection at the end is priceless
Victoria
Sharp Little Pencil
Oh, Victoria, you know I love your writing, so this means a lot. Yes, I was more straightforward than usual – avoiding those tempting little sidewinding trails so many of my poems take! And glad you liked the ending. It felt like it sealed the poem with a kiss to my Mom. Amy
sandra
I enjoyed this!!
Sharp Little Pencil
Sandra, is that Spanish for “the little word”? It’s been a while since I lived in Puerto Rico and my espanol is rusty!
Thanks for stopping – I’ll check your blog, too! Peace, Amy
Life: Between the lines
I love the ending 🙂
http://lynnaima.wordpress.com/
Sharp Little Pencil
Thanks so much! Love your blog as well, so much sensuality! I have to get back to that stuff, because I love writing about love in all its incarnations and varieties! Amy
Teresa
Thank you so much for stopping by my blog (http://razzamadazzle.wordpress.com). I love your poem, especially the ending with that treasure remaining hidden away. Of course I have collections of odds and ends from my parents and grandparents.
Sharp Little Pencil
OK, so now I know your name, yay! I hate having to call people Grizz and all, ha ha.
So glad you have those mementos to keep you in touch with loved ones who have passed. African tradition says that when you need your ancestors, they are there for you. In my own way, I feel my mom especially close when I go through that box. I also have her purse, and a pair of my grandma’s screw-on “paste” diamond earrings, which she used for performing. I come from a long line of musicians and artists…
I love your blog and the name ROCKS! Talk to you soon, Amy
Cloaked Monk
I remember whenever I would visit my grandmother, browsing through her hope chest and discovering the most exquisite memories. Thank you for bring that back to me!
Sharp Little Pencil
My pleasure! That’s the beauty of writing… we pass around these thoughts like a peace pipe… or a hookah! I’m so glad you caught some nice memories from this poem.
Thanks for stopping by. Will check yours out, too. Peace, Amy
Debbie
This is precious, so many memories . . .Thank you!
Sharp Little Pencil
Debbie, so many folks have said the same… I’m honored. Thanks, and keep your chin up during this season of Frosty the Snowman, Rudolph, and all the other secular doodads that mask the true joy of Christmas! Peace, love, and light, Amy
Alethea
Hey, hope you’ve been doing fine..
This was such a beautifully written piece…loved the details 🙂
Happy Potluck!!
Sharp Little Pencil
Alethea, thanks so much. I was on your blog and loved your piece too…
Isn’t Jingle the coolest? I celebrate that commitment to poetic community, along with Poets United! Have fun, Amy
Mary Bach
Oh this is wonderful Amy! What a great, unique perspective!
Sharp Little Pencil
Mary, thanks so much. I’ll hop over and see what you’re doing now! Amy
Jingle
love your entry, Amy..
your take on the theme is rocking..
I was closest to my own grandmother when I grew up, thus can relate to the emotions…
well done.
A++
Sharp Little Pencil
Oh, Jingle, my Grandma Blanche (mom’s mom) is my guardian angel. Thanks so much, and have a lovely HanuChristmaFestuvus!!! (wink)
Amy
scottf
I love the detail, really paints a great picture, and leaves us wondering about the people whose items are found, yet what more may remain lost with the answer in your hand.
Sharp Little Pencil
Ooo, great reply, Scott. You are a properly sober nugget, great blog name. You perfectly summed up my every intention with this one. I’m gonna hop over and visit you now, so thanks for stopping by!
Peace, Amy Barlow Liberatore
A.B. Thomas
A cool groove of a write. Personally, it would drive me nuts to have a key with no idea what it opened to – I’d end up going on a hunt just to ease my imagination!
Sharp Little Pencil
If I really let myself obsess about it, it would seem most natural, with my manic depressive side. But it’s a funny thing – I don’t want to know what it opens. It’s more fun to dream about it!
Thanks for stopping by, AB! (My initials, originally, for Amy Barlow) Amy
Madeleine
Oh I loved this. A great denoument too. Terrific!
My enrty is here:
http://scribbleandedit.blogspot.com/2010/12/going-loco.html
Sharp Little Pencil
Thanks so much for stopping by, Madeleine. Glad to read you, too, although Blogger won’t accept WordPress comments unless you have the Captcha widget on (scribbled words that must be retyped – helps robots from entering you blog). Your take on trains (and the men who love them, and the women who do, too) could not be better for me – my great-grandfather, Will Dunn, was a conductor in the old days of steam engines crisscrossing the country, hobos atop, the whole bit. So I simply loved your poem. Will send this to your email address so you can cut and paste the comment part if you wish. Peace and WHOOOOO WHOOOOOO! clickedy clack, Amy