Domestic coinage....

The Buttons of My Life

Handful after handful of buttons
Run through my fingers --
The domestic coinage
Of my life.

Pristine upon their cards,
Or released from garments
With thread snippets trailing,
Their paleness of metallic roundness
Recalls a negligee's chiffon
Or blue blazer's crispness.

Two holed,
Four holed,
Rear looped;
Bright red,
Mottled grey,
Cloth covered by a rayon fabric --
Half a century of rounded styles --
They represent a treasure mintage
Sequestered in a sewing basket.

Circle upon circle,
Disk upon disk --
Trickling from a handful mound,
Each button flashes
With a memory of brilliance
Through time's sky.

I sort their curves
And look for matches,
Duplicates and triplicates
To fit the buttonholes
Of my life today,
To pay for joys and sorrows.

August 11, 2004