The Chest

The chest upstairs held many things,
My mother's wedding clothes soft and white. 
Tiny little dresses, shoes and gowns
For a baby girl who could not live,
Put there with tears and loving sorrow.

My mother on lonely afternoons showed
Me the things in the chest.
The wedding clothes that someday I 
Would wear, the baby things of a sister
I would never know, but still could love.
Once it even held a lovely Spanish doll
​Dressed in red and black for me!