holds locks of curly
chestnut brown hair, and
the tiny knit socks that he
used to wear. There's a fuzzy

blue blanket with cottontail
rabbits hopping in the tall
grass. Topping that is Green
Eggs and Ham resting on

the musical lamb. The stuffed
teddy bear with one arm
missing is kissing Thomas the
tank engine. And the piggy

bank swallowed the copper
penny that christened
it, along with the red fleece hat
and mitts. A striped giraffe

bib is tucked in the corner
still decorated with the plum
and grape stain that didn’t wash
out, right under his name. A cardboard

box sits buried in my closet. Was it
just yesterday that thirty years
slipped away.