Heirs Loom

PEAR reflects

He found a family heirloom in a cedar chest – upstairs.
Passed down by forebears willingly
Though they were not aware
That what they had bequeathed was timeless
– measureless but strong:
Not knitted, welded, nor assembled,
Made to linger, long.

He showed the unimpressed descendants
What the ancestry had left.
Not one raised one delighted brow;
None celebrated then and now
A legacy neglected kept posterity bereft.

The disappointment hovered for a momentary sigh,
Then made escape through window frames,
With one exhilarating cry
Past horsehair plaster, weak and dry –
Thus never to return again.

His mirth made its immediate
Escape, and whispered soft
The truth will out, he always thought,
To keep his hopes alive/aloft
Perhaps he’d gain most everything he sought.

The generation next had little faith
That formal flatware with a flourish
Featuring a family crest
And made to help hold timeless court with
Dogged honor and long pride,
Would ever harbor value,
After all, the family gatherings
Themselves were lost in time.

The knives, and spoons and forks obliquely shined.
Some elbow grease might bring them
Back to life. But
Polishing a memory’s nothing more
Than crafting epic poems
That no one reads
Anymore.