There was

a box of things

once beloved, then discarded.

She said my children
could have them.

They pondered them
with glee.
"Can I have this?  Can I have that?"
Curious boxes,
coins,  clippers,
pouches and paperweights
cool to the touch,
exotic to the eye...
The woman chided me,  saying,
"Oh, are you just
going to GIVE them the things?
I thought you
would make the children
earn the things.
It somehow bothers me
to see them
pawing through there  like that."
Stricken, I put the box in
a cupboard.
Tightly, I smiled.
"We'll look at them later,"
I said.
Later...months later,
she said,
"Here's this box.
Don't the kids want any
of these things?"
Bored,
the children picked
through them.
"No," they whispered,
"Why would we want these?
They are just a bunch of junk."
And so they seemed.