While visiting my grandmother
at age seven,
my father and I wandered
onto the large Santa Monica Pier
in the late afternoon.
A small store
half way down the pier
offered cases full
of tiny handblown glass animals.
Rays of sunlight glinted,
turning the room
into a kaleidoscope unlike anything
my young eyes had ever seen.
I begged for one or two treasures.
Back home,
I carefully packed
the unicorn, elephant and tiny giraffe
in cotton,
then tissue paper
before loading them gently
into my small backpack.
The hardtop playground
at my elementary school
was a sea of inky black asphalt,
dark and unforgiving.
As an adult,
I can look back knowing
Tommy D. had no ill intent
when he grabbed for
the gentle giraffe.
But,
the result was the same…
shards of glistening glass
studded the blacktop
like diamonds in the rough.
A Reading Life 
Those words “dark and unforgiving” foreshadowed what was to come! What happened to the elephant? And adult you is able to forgive – “Tommy D. had not ill intent.”
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As a child, I am sure you did feel hurt about the whole episode, but then we understand adulthood challenges!
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This brought back such memories! I had a glass menagerie collection as well and the horse was one of my prize possessions. I only wish I had save them…. I am sorry for your loss, but appreciate the walk back through a time I had completely forgotten about. Thank you 🙂
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All those glass animals. I had a few that lost parts over the years or shattered to the floor. Thanks for the memory.
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What a poignant piece! The entrance of the dark blacktop took me by surprise. There is acquisition, cherishing, and loss in a short poem.
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Oh, I could see that one coming. Beautifully rendered retelling of one of those moments. I wonder if Tommy D ever thinks of it.
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