A Modern Explanation Of An Historical Occasion Poem by Mary Angela Douglas

costume jewelry came raining down
on the villages, the small republics;
seeded pearls and the plated gold

and sapphire crayons for children to hold.
mothers removed their aprons;
girls, their kerchiefs in the fields.

the princess simply held out her hands.
almost rubies tumbling over the rose gardens,
near the lilac palings and the railings,

the dachas painted in vermillion.
faux emeralds near the ferns,
and mysterious jade.

it's Grandmother's jewelry box in the skies
turned over, and in the white gold shade,
say my sister and I, as the rattling on the

tin roofs fades and everyone's gussied up.

next week's forecast...
1950's toys from the five and dimes
in birthday pink tissue paper.

mary angela douglas 5 august 2016