Hidden Places

Everyone has a hidden place

to store their secret memories
sometimes it is a note from a first love
grandmother’s favorite recipe, a treasure map

or mementos from adolescence.
Papers, notes or artifacts, souvenirs
of people, places or times.

They may not be visited often

but knowing where they are
brings a peace to daily living
and when there’s a moment and no one is home
finding those precious keepsakes

perusing the contents brings back memories
like the blue sea glass from Myrtle Beach,
or the black sand from Hawaii,
a piece of wall paper from grandma’s bedroom

a broken Navajo bracelet from childhood.
The folded American flag from my brother’s grave
with tear stains from when I cried.

The noise downstairs disrupts my reverie
I put everything back into a tin box
that once held a fruit cake no one ever ate.