Lost and Found – a poem by HM Ayres

Lost and Found

Over the years I may have lost
more than I have held on to.
Dozens of pairs of sunglasses. 
Sentenced to squinting in bright light.
Scores of gloves.
Lonely left hands left in coat pockets.

I don’t hold onto things. Gone 
are the treasures brought home
by precocious children.
Poems, mosaics, handmade mugs,
awards and trophies.
Family heirlooms, I have few.
Most discarded, some lost.

Hard feelings, regrets, hurts and defeats.
I let them all go.
It’s people I hold on to 
and now I keep losing them too.

I’d rather write a poem about 
what I have found.
Criss crossing waves on a windy beach.
Tiny colored stones spread across the sand 
like freckles on a sunburnt arm.

A flat rock at the edge of the water
that fits my body like the recliner chair
in my living room.
Miles of pale blue sky 
striped with puffy white clouds.

A warm breezy day after an endless series 
of blustery cold ones.
The courage to go out into it and write this poem.

HM Ayres grew up in Northern New Jersey. She retired and moved to Cape Cod, MA in 2021 after a 43 year career in college student affairs administration. Since retiring Helen has been devoting her time to writing poetry, exploring the Cape conservation areas, bike paths, waterways and beaches and is engaged in several social justice and community volunteer efforts.