of great love and silent strength

            sea shells, pebbles, and crystals

mingle in a long glass vase

on the second shelf of a bookcase

                   not a place for books, as such

but those that do sit there

jostle in height and widths irregular

just the way I like it

slight ridges fan out along cockle and clam

iridescent indigo and emerald of mussel

there are nautilus, cowrie, and whelk

cuttlefish bone and apple snail, there are oyster

                   mature and adolescent, even infant

pebbles of flint and shale

sandstone, feldspar, and schist

silicates, cool and petrified, coal, limestone, calcite

sulphurous aggregates combined over time

tumbled in the oceans of the world

some broken, some healed

rough bauxite, amethyst raw

ruby is common when opaque

quartz old grown, tiger’s eye staring

blue and green agate splashed with silver salt

cinnabar uncut or smoothed, crystal and gemstone

of great love and silent strength

on the first shelf

a photograph of a four year old boy

in his Sooty pyjamas, his mother

bright eyed, even in faded black and white

then, later, polaroid colour

thirteen years old, all elbows and knees

crooked teeth and uncombed hair

echoing his father’s stance, all smiles

the brother, ten, in mechanics overalls

eyes tightly shut, and mum, with her boys

standing proud, silver trophy in her hand

sixteen years ago now

a wooden box with a glass front

first housed two masks of equal import

tragedy weeping and comedy laughing

they adorned a wedding cake

rising up from proscenium drapes of rich purple

tiers representing the acts to be played

the lives together, to be lived

he, wore a long, black morning coat

embroidered quietly in violet and gilt

she, a skirt of gold, a bodice sewn tight

pearls and diamonds in her hair

confetti swirling, they are the focus

around them softly captured a background

of family and friends, uninhibited in their joy

such is only a glimpse, there are many shelves

sea shells, pebbles, and crystals

photographs, keepsakes, and memoirs

innocent and mature

broken and healed, of great love

and silent strength

encompassing all nature

catching dreams, our life held dear

(C) Trevor Maynard 2015