On her lap is the shoebox
she holds every day,
while she watches out the window,
the world she is no longer in.
Once a day she lifts the lid,
lets aged fingers
sift through memories,
pick up pieces of the past.
pictures of her husband, flower dried
from their first date, drawings done
by children, poem from a friend, old-
fashioned photos of her parents, piece
of silken wedding dress, gift pin from
retirement dinner, tiny confirmation
Bible, seashells from both oceans
Nurses pass and check in often.
Sometimes they stay awhile,
to listen, to learn of her box,
of her.
Back at the nurses' station
some wonder why she wants to
keep on living, "Sad how she
hangs on to that box."
Others smile, the ones who stop,
who fix her hair and chat.
They know it is not simply a box
that she cherishes, a container
for her reason to live.
It is her life she relives daily,
the happiness she's known.
Her present is that shoebox-
and what a gift
she has to give.
All Writing.Com images are copyrighted and may not be copied / modified in any way. All other brand names & trademarks are owned by their respective companies.
Generated in 0.05 seconds at 7:42pm on Nov 29, 2024 via server WEBX1.