Sitting upon a shelf, dusty with age,
You remind me of a time that doesn’t seem that far away.
We met on foreign soil and I took you home,
As I needed a reminder of what it was like to roam.
Prague, Paris. London, and Berlin,
Each of you are reminders of all the places I’ve been.
As each year passes and I grow older with age,
My hope is that you will remind me of myself before time turned the page.
Dirt from the Colosseum behind Venetian glass,
Or chessmen from Lewis, frozen faces from the past.
A century old marionette purchased from a quaint Prague store,
Now hangs on my shelf forever more.
A plague doctor’s mask from a Venetian window,
Or Czech painted eggs, hung by ribbon and on show.
A Natchez night spent in a Jefferson Davis named room,
Bonfires on Louisiana levees, oh, I do remember you.
Just trinkets on a shelf to mark experiences in time,
My memories will never fail me as long as you are mine.
All images by the author.
Marrow 