A Fairy Garden Grows

Once upon a time
when the Admiral's
granddaughter
was a little girl
the Admiral's widow
took her to visit
an elderly friend.

In a room full
of frail antiques
the elderly friend
brought forth
a box filled with
precious treasure
and one by one
told stories
of where each
treasure was found

All around the world
(with no children)
she roamed various beaches-
each day a careful search
happily collecting
intriguing sea shells
(and with no children)
and her own death near
the shells now had no where to go

The Admiral's granddaughter listened
rapt- enchanted- and stunned
when bequeathed right there and then
... the entire bounty

Decades later in what
was once forest
then field
then lawn
a fairy garden grows

and now an arc of random sea shells
tumbles- oceans of memories
warm and cold
intermingle
making new stories
out of old.

poem & picture copyright ©2008 Anne Selden Annab
The Fairy Garden Poems # 21