After browsing the Saturday yard sales
I lugged home an old trunk I'd bought
Hoping to explore it later that day
Then didn't give it another thought



Until one rainy Monday afternoon
The house clean and my errands all done
I remembered the trunk still in the garage
And decided to have a little fun



It took awhile to wrestle off the lock
All covered with rust and without a key
But with the help of a hammer and chisel
I raised the top to take a look-see



The musty smell of moth balls filled the air
And I had to step back for a minute
Then I sat on the floor beside the old trunk
To rummage through all the goodies in it



The usual mementoes ~ baby shoes and hair bows
And old pictures of people I didn't know
Seemed all that were in my treasure trunk
Until I found a secret compartment below



Wrapped in lace was an old faded diary
Bound in red leather with golden script
Holding the secrets of someone's heart
The pages fragile, brittle and ripped



As if invading a stranger's innermost thoughts
The story told during the War Between the States
Of a southern girl's love for a northern soldier
A pairing doomed to fail by circumstances and fate



The story unfinished, but tucked neatly in the back
Tied with ribbons and fine handmade lace
Were the letters they had written to each other
With no information for their history to be traced



Feeling remorseful at my intrusion into her emotions
Guilty that my reading it may have been wrong
That old trunk was the perfect place for her memories
The diary would stay in the past where it belonged 



Placing everything carefully back in its place
And putting a new lock on that old trunk
Realizing this was the most precious find
Of all my Saturdays of buying and bringing home junk

Kathleen McCoy Eldridge©
August 12, 2007
All Rights Reserved

















It's Not For Me To Say
1950s Juke Box

Graphic Set by Designer Lady