Petals of Memories

The cold metal fidgets around in my hand
Each petal holding something from the past
As memorable as the ancient pictures of grandma’s childhood stacked in an old shoe box
With a pause of hesitation
I slide the gentle fragment onto my neck
Seeing what grandma saw in her world
Wearing the petals of memories
I touch the circular hollow shape, and remember the beach
Touching another I remember cuddling into her and falling asleep
As special as a daughter’s kiss
Placed on the frail forehead of a dying father.
Reality breaks once more as the moribund necklace falls to the ground
Cling!
Delicate as a newborn baby taking its first look into the world
I pick it up with curiosity and see that a petal has fallen out
And with that, a memory has passed away forever.