I may be a sentimental fool but
They don’t make them
Like you anymore.
Who knows how many
Countries you’ve seen?
How many stories
You could tell?
I am certain you’ve traveled
Further than I have,
Carrying the anticipation
As well as memories of Manolet and Milly.
If only you could speak
And tell me of their adventures.
Tell me their secrets, their fears, their hopes.
Tell how they made it all work and lived their dreams.
If only your buckles weren’t so inefficient
And your volume impractical,
I’d keep you forever
So that I may hold on to a piece of them:
Their love story
Their memories
Their good fortune
Their generosity.
I open you up and sniff,
Hoping that their smell lingered there.
It did not.
But the feeling of remembrance
Is like a warm embrace
And I am grateful for everything
They have given me,
Including you.
For you also assisted me in setting off
On my own adventure
Which would never have been possible
Without them and their love.
May you be useful to someone else.
May you bring good fortune to them.
And may you continue to see more of the world.