submission by Marianne Larsen Reninger

[Marianne Larsen Reninger]

Cabinet de Curiosite'

Leavings, detritus, findings, proof that we have lived.

Each in its little cage, each a signpost that we exist.

A feather, a stone, a miniature face,

In a miniature silver frame from 1956.

A piece of coral, a clockface, a bottle of wishes;

A silver mermaid, a box of kisses.

A seashell, blue seaglass, a tiny wooden house;

A coin, a nest, a little velvet mouse.

An engraved wee ring, an ancient spool of thread,

A butterfly's wing, a cracked doll's head.

A seahorse, a scroll of musical notes,

Some moss, a bone, two fabricated boats.

A spotted egg, a bleached turtle shell,

A dainty  pink ribbon, I knew so well.

These vest-pocket objects we touch and feel

To reassure ourselves that our lives have been real.

But where are the signposts to guide us ahead,that

Nebulous tunnel of light, that dark alley of night

With its infinite starless horizon?

Intergalactic dust, try as we must,

Electrical charge, engines thrust.

Exploration begins, Curiosite'wins.

Marianne Larsen Reninger

Unpublished