It was upstairs in the attic

That an old box caught my eye.

It was wrapped in brittle paper

Way upon a shelf so high.

I wasn’t tall enough to reach it

So I went and found a chair.

Curiosity was getting me

I had to find out what was there.

I reached up high and got it down

And held it in a gentle clutch.

Somehow I knew inside me

My heart, this thing would touch.

The paper was old and yellowed

It was covered with years of dust.

My anticipation grew stronger;

Just to open it, I must.

It must have been up there so long

Fifty, sixty years or more.

For when I tried to dust it off

The paper on it tore.

I held the box upon my lap

As I sat down on that chair.

I carefully untied the ribbon

That held the paper there.

I held my breath, took off the lid

As I tried to make some sense

For inside this old torn box

Was an unworn wedding dress.

I held it up and smoothed it out

And touched the pearls and lace.

And as I read the name inside

Tears slid down my face.

When young, I remember the story told

Aunt Nellie was her name

And how she lost her love at sea

How her life was ne’er the same.

They told the tale of long ago

About the day she was to wed

How Aunt Nellie lost her mind when

She found her sweetheart dead.

Returning the dress to it’s resting place

Is when I saw the folded note

I took the tear stained paper out

And read the words he wrote.

“Dear Nellie, please forgive me

For I am going far away

Another love has stole my heart

So there’ll be no wedding day”.

It took awhile for my mind to grasp

In the box the secret kept

And when I finally realized

I bowed my head and wept.

So dear Nellie, rest in peace

About your wedding day

For I’ll never tell a soul

Why your lover went away.

I tore the note in little shreds

And in the fire I did throw

So the truth of Nellie’s story

No one would ever know.

~Author~

Kathy Shuttleworth

© 2000

(my sister)