I don’t know what brought it on but once again,
I found myself staring down at the contents of an old suitcase
only this time it wasn’t mine.

I found it in an old storage bin in the basement
of the apartment I’m currently calling home and being somewhat of a curious nature
decided to take a peek

Faded pictures, old news clippings, some good, some bad
tucked away for no discernible reason
All kinds of cards, birthday, anniversary, graduation and yes, condolences,
each of them addressed to strangers

Towards the bottom I discover an old jewelry box that has seen better days,
the cover is frayed and the hinges are rusty and loose,
the lid comes off in my hands when I pry it open.

I don’t know what I was expecting to find,
more notes, some relics preserved from a family history
or perhaps, some other form of buried treasure.

Yes! That’s it, the proverbial family jewels!
Diamonds, Sapphires, Rubies and Emeralds
Nuggets of gold and pieces of eight
My ship, so long at sea, had finally reached its port.

But no, just rocks, the everyday sort
That you take from your garden to clear room for growth
or the kind you take for granted and kick to the curb or down a sewer hole
without a second thought.

Who put them there? What purpose did they serve?
What hidden meaning, if any do they possess?
Why was it left for me to find them?

Therein lies the mystery, the wonder
the beauty and even the intrigue
of the poem in a rock.

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