The Cedar Chest: A Valentine's Poem

as in the deep cedar chest

closeted for years until that day

you open the door and peer inside.

Here is a picture from our wedding day;

You in white, Me in silver tuxedo

and matching running shoes--

because it worked for us.

If we only knew then

what we know now

you might have worn them too.

As it was, you threw off your shoes

when it came time to dance

and that, I learned, is your nature.

As the story goes, there are

more pictures of our children than we ever

thought we could take, but we did.

Every trip to the drug store

brought joy and disappointment

in the requisite "Oh, this one didn't turn out."

Life in full color can be difficult to perfect.

There are crushed flowers

in our cedar chest, fragile

relics from past relationships

that did not work out,

which is just as well.

We have each other, and this house,

and our grown children leaving

quiet places for us to consider

as we open this chest of memories

to see how far we've come.

It is enough to know we love each other

as we close this door and keep company

with the very souls who helped fill this chest

in everything they have to give,

that is hope.