The store bought balsa birdhouse
brought by my grand-girl today
now on that same bent rusty nail
hammered in our backyard tree
for the handmade house her
mommy made forty years ago
from two terra cotta flower pots
one upside down atop the other
held in place with preschool glue.
Remnants saved in a special place,
yellow pencil perch, several shattered
shards of clay displaying initials
etched by my three year old
daughter preserved forever
in this old man’s nest of memories.
About the Author: Carl Palmer
Carl “Papa” Palmer of Old Mill Road in Ridgeway, Virginia, lives in University Place, Washington. He is retired from the military and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) enjoying life as “Papa” to his grand descendants and being a Franciscan Hospice volunteer.
Carl is a Pushcart Prize, Best of the Net and Micro Award nominee. MOTTO: Long Weekends Forever!
