The Old Oak Cedar Chest

Old gnarled hands slowly pried open
the red oak ancient cedar chest.
Whiffs of dust wafted through the air,
Causing her to emit a sneeze.

She wiped her hands on the apron,
And peeled back the tissue paper.
Her rheumy wet eyes stared inside,
As her mind drifted back in time.

She saw a nymph with long blonde hair,
Dancing freely in a ballet,
Woodland creatures coming to watch,
The spectacle before their eyes.

A mortal appeared before her,
Together they became as one,
Bonded to each other for life,
As the glorious years quickly passed.

Now visited by twilight years,
Alone, no longer a young nymph,
She reaches out to touch again,
The gown she wore when they first met.

She never regretted the life,
With him - no longer in ballet.
Happy as a wife and mother.
The stage a distant memory.

She closes the oak cedar chest,
Her hands linger on the surface,
Then she slowly unwinds herself,
And makes her way to the bedroom.

In her dreams, she is young again,
Limber as the day she was born,
Finding that mortal once again,
And bidding farewell to the world.

32 Lines