Old Quarters

Saved – a family

Treasure – a family

Heirloom never found -

A gay uncle – socialist -

Some called a terrorist -

They never wanted to remember

Had hidden it in the house -

Searched for by the desperate

And discarded as superstition

By the rest – remaining lost

For years and years

Until one pudgy,

Spry seven-year-old

Found it in the slaves’

Old quarters covered

In vintage newspaper

Behind a false brick -

A pearl the size

Of an apple

Dull from mildew

And dust held heavy

In her hands

Gleaming in the

Low-light

Cutting through

The slats in the window -

A treasure to be shared.

Her feet flying

And squealing -

Holding it to her breasts -

Carefully,

Carefully.