by Marianna Arolin

Created on: March 13, 2008

THE MEMORIES YOU LEFT BEHIND

I found a box of broken crayons
And your old coloring book.
A stray mitten, your old scarf.
All tucked away in a closet nook.

The baby doll you treasured.
A wrapper from a Hershey bar.
Some jax and cats-eye marbles,
A bright red Hot-Wheels car.

Your jump rope was tangled
All around your old baton.
I remembered how you treasured it
And the ribbons that you won.

You saved movie magazines
And your first Barbie doll.
Your weathered catcher's mitt
And an old tattered softball.

As I studied all these keepsakes
I couldn't help but smile.
I realized I'd never seen them
All together in one pile.

You always had the house strewn
It seems from stem to stern.
With all of your possessions
And I began to yearn.

For that energetic little girl,
That I called my very own.
The one who scattered her stuff
All throughout our home.

Sometimes I can almost hear the sound
Of your footsteps on the stair.
I long to open the front door wide,
And find you standing there.

It's then, my world would be complete,
If, We could step back in time.
If only, I could have you here with me,
Not just the memories you left behind.

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