Shanhu Lee
Sometimes things just don’t belong to her.
The jade earring just came out from
her ear and slipped on the ground silently,
when she walked Aspen this evening.
She went out to look for the earring in the dark
with her iPhone flashlight. She walked gently
and carefully not to smash the little earring
that lay on the cold ground.
Sometimes things just don’t belong to her.
They are tiny green jade drop earrings.
On her 24th birthday, Thomas presented to her.
The first gift she received from her lover.
On the second date. His eyes were as green
as jade. But she had never worn them. Somehow.
She lost the poles, one by one. She kept
the earrings in the safe for many years.
They traveled with her from Japan to France
To America. From Boston to Boulder,
to Denver, to Kent, and to Huntsville.
This spring she got new poles.
She had her jade earrings for the first time,
Today. Then she lost one earring
on her walk. Seems that sometimes
things just don’t belong to her.
shanhu lee 