Published in Poetry d'Amour 2021
Nuggets and dust
Tineke Van der Eecken
Gold gathers in clusters,
forms dust and nuggets
on land. Won’t blend when
returned to the stars.
In four-o-clock sun
gold light covers landscapes
and skin. His pale hands take
what others left, for silver dollars.
He offers me rock: pale brown with yellow
patches, from an exploration trip to Liberia.
Rough, unmannered, no sparkle
on the surface.
Once we were gold.
Our shimmer lit
a nest of stars.
Needed two, not one, to shine.
A gold ring placed in my hand
by someone who lost her man.
Could you transform our love
into a pair of earrings?
My jeweller’s torch can melt
this gold, re-shape and join,
even with silver. But the essence
remains unchanged.
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