melissaahowells - Thank You For Being Your Own Treasure

///////\\\\\\\

Going through a junk drawer
after Grandma Alta died
I went through all of her keepsakes
realizing none of the items
within the drawer
was ordinary
each keepsake
had a part
and a voice in telling
her story

an ebony toothpick holder
a cloth-covered button
from a favorite maroon silk crepe dress
when she was seventeen
sales receipts from Kmart in the 70's
and photographs
with lipstick kisses on the back of them
in carnelian red

each object
a poem of her past

I think now about your words
and poetry
as I read and reread them
little arrows that they are
guideposts of language
which lead me to each new small piece
of delight
I only have to look
and find you there
waiting

how did you do that
that simmering down of juice into sweet jam
no sugar necessary

as I read I don't want to
miss all the juicy little chunks
each word weighed and measured
for its heft
I believe there is nothing too small
in this world that does not deserve our notice

small words never small
small looks magnifying the heart
glances not quite telling you everything
but leaving you desiring more

you and your words
and your poetry
are like that
continuing discoveries
which entice me forward into you

thank you for being
your own treasure

///////\\\\\\\
LEGAL COPYRIGHT FOR THIS POEM 9:51am PST 1/14/2022 TIME/DATE STAMPED
AND ALSO FOR THIS POET/WRITER MELISSA A. HOWELLS
AND ALSO FOR THIS LEGALLY COPYRIGHTED AND REGISTERED SITE TITLE
MELOO STRAIGHT FROM HER TILT-A-WORLD

THIS POEM IS MORE THAN JUST ABOUT MY GRANDMOTHER ALTA
THIS IS ALL INCLUSIVE ...AND INCLUDES ANY AND ALL PEOPLE I'VE MET
EACH WHO HAVE THEIR OWN POETRY TO SHARE WITH ME IN LIVING THEIR LIVES
AND IN SHARING THE TREASURE THAT IS THEM....