The Padlocked Trunk – A Thoughtful Poem for Kids About Memory, Grief and Love
The Padlocked Trunk
There's a trunk in Granddad's attic
It looks like one of those battered treasure chests
washed upon a desert island
after a shipwreck
Now beached
in the darkest corner I've ever seen
Its rusted, sulking padlock
given up on ever being reunited
with its key
I ask him
though Mum told me not to
What’s in there Granddad?
A tear
like a crystal bead
appears, spills and slides
into the deepest channel of his cheek
silent seconds follow
Then,
Granddad clears his throat
and speaks
I’ll show you one day
he says
as the tear disappears
into the corner of his smile
before seizing
between his gnarled thumb and forefinger
a rusty key
threaded onto a golden chain
around his neck
that's hung there
since Gran left
Mark Bird
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