The Heirloom

Property went equally to siblings four
Except one heirloom they all craved for

A beautiful piece of their family history
Square settee, gold inlaid with a story

Folklore had it, this was passed on
Generation to generation, from eons

The brother who was settled in Zanzibar
Relinquished his share for a tiny gold bar

Other two brothers who lived in the big city
Let go also for expensive tokens, quite glitzy

Youngest was the sister who lived in London
This heirloom had been her cherished mission

Happily dispatching this precious load with care
She quickly said goodbyes and paid her airfare

Settee was reverently placed in her London den
And hours were spent reliving years till age ten

Mother had lovingly served all four mouths, goodies
Seated on this settee constantly filling hungry bellies

Fairytales and proverbs that accompanied her food
Were pure common sense instilled and thus imbued

She decided to repair and shine the lovely heirloom
Called a known carpenter for a shine and a bloom

A coat of varnish was given under her ever watchful glance
Lo and behold a secret drawer was found, what romance!!!

Excitedly it was pried open and contents removed carefully
A tiny dairy, a silver canister and a necklace, very gingerly

Dairy enumerated her granny’s peccadilloes, document family lineage
The necklace had adorned this rebel great grandmother of regal visage

She put the necklace around her neck but the clasp was broken
She surmised perhaps it was squirreled away from a spoilt scion

In seventh heaven she photographed and imaged her precious finds
Quickly sending data in attached files to relevant expert historians

With bated breath she scanned for replies as her curiosity steadily rose
Smelling an exciting discovery given their blue bloodlines she supposed

Bingo! on that fateful Monday morning over a muffin and a coffee
She read they’d descended from of a Mighty King with no boundary

Their genes were a pure bloodline and the document was a national treasure
She was hard put to relinquish as it authenticated and reinforced her measure

She informed her siblings of this exciting discovery and information
They were glad yet could not appreciate its value, being ultra modern!!!
No heirloom of humankind captures the past as do art and language.
Theodore Bikel
Austrian, Actor Quotes

As you age naturally, your family shows more and more on your face. If you deny that, you deny your heritage.
Frances Conroy
American, Actress Quotes

Heredity is a strong factor, even in architecture. Necessity first mothered invention.
Now invention has little ones of her own, and they look just like grandma.
E(lwyn) B(rooks) White
1899-1985, American Author, Editor