Copyright 2001

Locket of Loss

My locket, by my heart,
Holds my heart in heart's shape
Printed flowers on smooth silver
Never die like the person they hold
Flowers blooming that never grow
Nor fade in any way

Inside, there is only one picture
There will never be another
Half there and half not
Black and white face, strong,
The rest disappearing in an overwhelming blank spot
It's been there since before me,
Since before the person before me
For years

But they never drowned their loss in a locket
A bottomless locket, as I do now
And every time I open the locket,
It gets a little deeper
And my eyes whisper how much I miss you
And he stares back, his eyes almost too
small to see
And my most horrifying thought
Is that the crack beginning in the corner
Will spread and claim the picture
Just as the Unknown
Claimed you.