The Vase

© Ben Burton 7-19-2015 The painted vase rested proudly on the mantel In the living room Above the wood-burning fireplace Decade after decade A multicolored mess of blue, green, brown, and red But forty-five years could not extinguish the memory Of that eight-year-old boy Haphazardly wrapping the special gift He had made With all the skills of a bulldozer For his mother's birthday Leading to the first tear He had ever seen her shed While wearing a glorious grin A grin now seen Only in photographs These days The vase shares a box With assorted memorabilia In an attic Though the memory is unhidden Remaining happily alive In the mind Of her aging boy