CLAY TREASURES

Later, I donned my swimsuit to splash
in the backyard inflatable pool,
then found a comfortable spot
to sit and dig in the dirt…
             Sifting a mixture of red-clay with coarse sand
and water to a pliable consistency
I shaped little clay animals:
             turtles, lizards, snakes,
             ladybugs, a pottery dish or two
My fingers stained red-brown from the wet clay.
I placed them carefully on a small cardboard,
carried them into the house,
then set the pieces on the window ledge
to dry in the oven-hot sun.

These tiny clay treasures,
kept for many years,
displayed on my bedroom bookshelf
until like ancient ruins,
they shattered or disintegrated…

---written by Kathleen