Hidden Mementos

HIDDEN MEMENTOS

Perfectly aligned boxes
Symmetrical, coordinated, balanced
The way she wanted life to be.
Their contents camouflaging
Hidden moments from the past
Mixed-emotion memories
Concealed in darkness, under lids.


First a pretty pink box.
She lifts its lid and smiles.
Relives her childhood.
Exercise books of childish fantasies
Written in a neat, round hand.
Gold stars, red ticks, comical flat drawings.
Life before problems, hurt and pain.


Next a midnight blue box.
She lifts its lid and sighs.
Yellowed letters tied in ribbons
Words and promises from lovers.
Passionate endearments, future hopes
All sealed with lingering kisses.
Life before heartbreak, deceit and gloom.


Then an emerald green box.
She lifts its lid and frowns.
Greeting cards from years gone by.
Birthdays, weddings, valentines
Baby congratulations, Mother’s Day
Celebrations long forgotten.
Life before emptiness, defeat and shame.


Fourth a daffodil yellow box.
She lifts its lid and cries.
Photographs of loved ones
Familiar smiles, laughing faces
Long gone but never erased
Faded monochrome memories.
Life before loss, loneliness and tears.


Last a spotless white box.
She leaves its lid untouched
Recalling Pandora’s error.
Empty but for hopes and dreams
Mysteries from a future
Tentatively waiting to unfold.
Life ahead, uncertain and obscure.