Wednesday, August 14, 2013

Artifacts


An old shoebox shoved
to the back of the top shelf
of the clothes closet,
forgotten, recalling
another time, a ship,
the exotica of Manila,
the danger of Tokyo:

a sewing kit of flaking leather
a ration card, partially unused
a photographic booklet
   of Shanghai
a pocket New Testament
   King James Version
a stout cloth belt still usable
a Christmas card dated 1945
a receipt for the purchase of a lot
   back home signed
   by someone unrecognized
a brass Chinese wedding cup
a warship’s newsletter
discharge papers

discharge papers


Photograph: USS Repulse, World War II

4 comments:

Jerry said...

Was that your dad or some other relative?

Martha Jane Orlando said...

A treasure trove of memories . . . Beautiful, Glynn!

Glynn said...

Jerry - that was my dad - although that wasn't his ship in the photo.

Maureen said...

Always so interesting what we save. Your line "discharge papers" carries so much meaning.