Curiosity

2021 Annual Literary Contest

3rd Place
Poetry

Tony Ryan
Calgary, AB

Covered in fine powder.

Undercoated with grime and at

Rest in the far corner of a darkened shop,

I stop and stare at this

Out of place relic.

Shelves of spices and dried herbs

Invite passerby to enter and

Taste the wares .

Yet , no one notices this

Kitten elaborately carved and carefully detailed.

Inlaid with ivory, a fine

Lacquered sheen over carved bronze and silver, as it

Leans against the dusky walls.

Endlessly gazing with eyes clouded by the

Dust of centuries.

Treasured keepsake of some distant

Holy rite of passage, maybe ?

Evangel of the deity Bastet, perhaps ?

Contemplating such reasons of being,

At last I take my leave and

Trudge home ,still wondering..