...it's funny how a small piece of gold
with a few tiny jewels
so old and so delicate
can mean so many things
can conjure so many memories
we all have a Great Aunt Cleo
or someone just like her
with a voice that was a cross between
Julia Childs' and a rusty gate
bright red lipstick lovingly
smeared on young cheeks
dodging in vain again and again
on birthdays and christmas
bearing neatly wrapped boxes
that contain another in the long line of
cardigan sweaters
like Fred McMurray from My Three Sons would wear
i still have one hanging on the wall
an object d'art and homage to the past
moth holes and all...

and Great Aunt Cleo's Hat pin has survived
many years
from hat to hat
doing years of dangerous duty
in the beret of a sometimes gruff, but kindly
wandering electric minstrel

...now the magickal pin rests
in the loving hands of it's next
caretaker
ready to log more miles and memories
and store more love
in it's fragile core...