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..
