All That Glitters

My grandpa taught me
to watch where I was going
but keep an eye on the ground
watch for the glitter
in may be broken glass
from bottles of beer or wine
or maybe a dime or quarter
dropped from the pocket
of a nine year old
a piece of jewelry
washed through the sewer
with the last hard rain
fool’s gold or 14 caret
it all glitters just the same

but if I’m not watching
I’ll pass it by
leaving it behind for someone
else to find
So my eyes are always wide open
scanning the places I walk
collecting pieces of this and that
for a collage I’m planning to construct
different colored glass for a mosaic
depicting this cityscape
gathering glass along the beach
for a scene from the sea
aluminum and other metal scrapes
melted to make an alloy
for a unique piece of jewelry

My grandpa was a collector
for the hundred years he lived
little rusted coffee cans
filled with colors of amber, blue, and red
the only thing he left
I wanted just for me
transforming those throwaways
into pieces of art
shown at local art shows
and in galleries

returning to the world
new artifacts,
remnants
and debris
written up in magazines
photographed and displayed
little bits
gathered up from city streets
redefined and restructured
from discards to art.