SUNDAY BEST

By Robert Westberry

Edwina saw the auctioneer

Though ghost tears quelled her view,

He auctioned off her teddy bear

And favorite dolly, Sue.

The bidders didn't notice her

Though in her "Sunday best"--

The little girl with big, blue eyes

Whose spirit wouldn't rest.

The strangers bid on Mama's dress

Daddy's watch of gold;

The porch swing,

The croquet set,

The desk (with top that rolled).

Her brother's toys,

A metal clown

Who did tricks for a penny,

Grannys' brooch, Granddaddy's clock

Antiques--there were so many!

She stayed until the fireflies flew

When yelled the auctioneer:

"Now, which of you is taking home

This precious "Little Dear?"

Her face glowed from a portrait

Dated 1897,

Edwina in her "Sunday Best"

The year she left for Heaven.

A JOURNEY IN TIME

By Lynda D. Prouse

Heavy torrents of rain cascaded

Outside my century home,

While I sat cozy in the kitchen

Admiring some patchwork I'd just sewn.

When suddenly the light went out

And I stumbled from my chair,

The room flashed in eerie darkness

As bolts of lightning streaked the air.

I made my way to the pantry

And there upon a shelf

Stood a row of kerosene lantern

And I smiled to myself.

For I knew that with one strike of a match,

I'd take a journey back in time,

Where life was very different

From this modern world of mine.

I chose two lamps and set them down,

Then watched the shadows grow,

And thought about an era

That existed some hundred years ago.

I rethreaded the needle and glanced up,

And in my imagination I could see

A lady from the distant past

Who looked very much like me.

And with only a lamp to guide her,

She worked long into the night,

Sweetly singing while she stitched a quilt,

Her face bathed in gentle light.

I must have dozed a moment,

For when I awoke the power was on,

I blew out the lamps and thought I heard,

The faint melody of a faraway song.

Cocking my head I listened,

But there was only the sound of soft rain,

The storm was over and so was my journey,

I was back in the present again.