Charm Bracelet Poem by Mary Angela Douglas

charm braclet in a white gold mould remembered
cast charm by charm
and will you come to harm

not wearing it, perhaps
each gemstone there's a prayer
for every home you lived in

disappeared and there, against all fears
the little joys in miniature
the wishes shine, tiny, the hinged piano....

each one, in time misplaced
but jangling here against disgrace
in curious moonlit filagree

designed and for a sign.
oh hear the bells with the intricate clappers

ring nor rue the small hours lost, unmapped,
not counting any cost at all because you wear
on a wrist no longer fair

this braclet of it all sans tears
this -linking of the years, this-
amulet of Heaven.

mary angela douglas 9 january 2016