She kept the china tucked away
Thinking she would take it out one day
For a special occasion, a celebration grand
Her children she would reprimand
If they touched the delicate bone china dinner set
A broken or chipped piece would leave her with regret
There would be anniversaries and graduations to celebrate
There would certainly be weddings to fill her plate
In the future her china would find plenty of use
But to risk breaking it right now was not something she could choose
*
Life did not follow the script she had in mind
Fate to her was not particularly kind
She lost her husband, her children went off on their own
Not caring to return once they had from the nest flown
There were no milestones left to celebrate
To call her old friends to dinner one time she did contemplate
In the form of a pandemic fate then intervened
The china languished in the cabinet, where it had always been
*
Out of the blue, one day her daughter returned
(She had been by her naiveté been burned)
It was a reunion of mother and daughter bittersweet
Old mistakes neither of them wanted to repeat
As they sat down to dinner, she remembered her china locked away
And decided that this was the perfect day
To use what she had for special occasions reserved
This was a moment that called for dinner to be served
In the finest china, that had languished for years
As she wiped away the dusty dishes, her eyes filled with tears..
*
Life is unpredictable, use the fine china today
There is some truth to following what all wise people say..
