The Chest

The Chest

The chilled winds screamed like a cat fight

as I rummaged the attic that night

an old chest partly hidden from sight

sat in fleeting shadows gray and stark

it drew attention by its graceful form

mysterious presence in darkness cast

drawing one with temptation strong

heartbeat rising quickly fast

as sprung latches let the lid open

would it reveal ingots within

would candle light shine on fortune

I paused with deep breath taken in

then, found the chest filled with words

short ones, strange ones, long ones abound

some nouns, adjectives and adverbs

also in the mix, verbs and pronouns

enough to construct sentences

and gather them into chapters

words of beauty and fragrant essence

words worthy of human rapture

'twas a treasure greater than gold

seeds of consciousness and wisdom sown

grown into stories and poems of old

and woven into fabrics of fantasies flown