The Old Music Box

An old jewellery box gathers dust on a shelf

Forgotten and abandoned among old books and delft

What treasures and memories inside can be found

Figures on a music box go round and around

Two dancers, perhaps a husband and wife

Embraced and entwined in the dance of life

I reach for the key and begin to wind

And to my surprise,a letter I find

Paper so fragile, faded and frayed

Loving words that can never be unsaid

As the dancers move slowly in rhythm and rhyme

To an old lullaby from an innocent time

I read the letter right from the start

Words of comfort straight from the heart

Some words of joy and others of sorrow

Memories of the past and dreams of tomorrow

When this box held so many dreams

And hopes and prayers too it seems

Inside a few trinkets and some jewellery

But none as precious as dreams and memory

A precious gift more than words can say

The treasured memories of another day

In the book of life a long forgotten page

Echoes of another life and another age

I replace the letter with care and respect

And pause for a moment to gently reflect

On those intimate moments  the Dancers did share

And close the lid gently and with tender care.

While the music still echoes and plays in my mind

Two Dancers in Heaven are forever entwined

c/ Denis Murphy 14 Nov 2016