Souvenirs

The odd things we hold special in old age.

                   Souvenirs.

A old box filled with simple gifts.
Shiny stones from the Big Surf.
Sea shells from the coast of Europe.
Many photo books from the past.

Last book my father read.
Old silver dollars father's collected.
Father's silver stars  from the Korean war.

Souvenirs of the heart.
Held safely away for us to touch in private.

Pictures of beautiful girls who are not forgotten.
Photos of kids who have their own now.
Grandma's  personal diary and her bible.

Grandpa's old newspapers he held with honor.
Letters written to me when I was away in faraway wars.

Each of us have our souvenirs.
They become leftover things to make us remember faces and kind words.

I wonder what will happen to my trinkets?
I took my elders memories and store them in  simple box.
They are precious items to my old heart.

I tell the young. Take something from the people we loved.

Souvenirs of the heart are needed when we need to gain strength from old words
and good memories.

                                    Coyote

Author's Note

Good to hold precious the simple items in a life. One day the simple things we will miss the most..

Reviews

[Lydia Shutter]

What a touching write this is. I have often wondered what will become of my "souvenirs" from relatives my son never knew. Precious mementos I will never part with. Will they be tossed when I am gone because no one will realize their significance? Yes, we do remember the faces, the places, the conversations by looking at them. They are part of our lives. A heartfelt write. Lydi**

[Coyote Poetry]

Souvenirs become more valuable with time. Thank you for reading and the comment.

[Talkless]

A remarkable piece of writing"salute".

[Arabdha]

Sometimes souvenirs are all we have -to remember,feel and relate ! This was a great read for me ..

[Tina Kline]

What you say is very true. Once someone is gone that's all we have left. A truly wonderful poem.

[Peter H]

a lovely nostaglic poetry filled with deep moral meaning lovely :)

[Cole Hayley]

What thing I've missed during my hiatus is reading your work Coyote. I came back happy to find that you never lost a step. Great work.

[SyberRose]

I have a book with my great-grandfathers signature in it...I never met him...but It was my fathers and was passed down to me...He was born in Ireland...I never knew I had any relatives from Ireland...until I found out on ancestry.com...I now have a photo of him and family too that I found on ancestry and I had it framed...
Enjoyed reading Coyote...Rose

[Coyote Poetry]

Small items become gold. I'm glad you traced your family. Good to know where we came from. Thank you for the comment.

[Fabian G. Franklin]

Love this Coyote; it holds so much truth and many of my dearest, most treasured posessions have little or no monetary worth but they have great sentimental value and are a part of me; my past and all that I am. This was a great read.

[Danielle]

A very well written & sentimental piece!
I feel that we take souvenirs for granted even though they carry so much value and meaning.

[Sirius King]

i hold on to things...i sometimes have to purge a lot, so i wont end up on hoarders lol

great sentimental write!