Little Silver Penguin On A Chain Poem by Valerie Lennox

I cleared out the attic today and found a box, sealed with tape
It wasn’t marked and I couldn’t remember what was inside
I’ve carried it around for many years
Moving from one place to another, as my life has changed.

I opened it and was stricken by the almost forgotten smell
Of your cologne, that arose, like a slap, catching me unawares.
A handkerchief – I smile – you hated paper tissues –
I feel inside the folds there is something hidden
And find a small silver penguin on a chain
You used to love those strange flightless birds
I remember when you took me to see their colony at the coast
And you bought me this little trinket as a souvenir.
When you gave it to me you made up a story
Of how the penguin lost his ability to fly in the air
And God gave him instead the ability to fly in the sea.

Cards for Valentine, cards for birthdays,
All inscribed in your backward sloping hand
Cards for just because
A dried rose, pressed between the pages of a paperback
Chopsticks! That was an anniversary dinner…..
A champagne cork – with a date written on it - our wedding day
Your favourite sweater, still smelling faintly of you
Your wallet, inside it a picture of me
And right at the bottom, a cassette tape from your answering machine.

I scramble downstairs, searching for an old cassette player
And, finding it, hoping it still works, inser the tape
Your deep voice suddenly fills the room
“Sorry I am not here to take your call…..”
I’ll never hear you say anything else ever again.
I trudge back, and re-pack the box, sealing it
Leaving out only the little penguin
I can’t relegate him to a box in the attic any longer.
I will give him to a special little girl
With freckles and dimples and tell her the story
Of the little silver penguin on a chain.