handed down from unknown ages,
a secret locket carried from birth,
an inscribed angelic amulet
–barely noticeable, but
always with him

its ancestral origin was unknown,
dangled above the baby boy,
a spinning mobile before his wide eyes
watching and calling,
the boy cooed at it
and heard an ancient name then,
now, and to come

he rode his tricycle down a big hill,
a dump truck was there at the bottom
he could not stop the spinning pedals
with bare feet.
around his neck, it rested on
the five-year-old’s heaving chest,
as he flew over his handlebars,
sinking deep into the searing hot asphalt.
blood-curdling screeches, his aunt Helen ran
kicking off high heels to extract
his tarred, quivering body, covered
with blisters and 3rd degree
burns.
the locket was there too
soothing him, anointing him
with his secret name

the foolish young soldier raced
through the California desert
in a borrowed pickup truck.
so sure of himself, he gulped
another swig of tequila,
saw double,
and passed out.
the neglected childhood trinket
still suspended against his heart,
–it whispered his name again
as the lights spun wild and went out.
he woke hours later,
sprawled on the desert sand,
unharmed,
he remembered it calling
his name again and again
just before all went black.

uncountable times it flashed
his real name at the edges of
his consciousness, a pet name
known and inscribed
on his shining,
only on his shining

his old gray head
could no longer remember.
his labored breathing
was not expected
to last till morning.
as he passed through the portal,
the silver cord snapped. he heard
his shining name called from the
other side.








2.4 10/10