Author: kimhaynesjohnson

 Not Yet 9

In a haunted jewelry box

where a gold Playboy bunny ring 

with a diamond always  

echoed shadowy laughter 

from its sentimental corner 

found by a high school friend 

received as a gag gift 

there is a story 

that cannot yet be told 

 

In a haunted jewelry box

an engagement ring 

and wedding band 

once clamped tightly in its box

with a receipt from 1985

Levy Jewelers in the 

Savannah, Georgia mall

one oval quarter carat diamond

two smaller round ones on each side 

cursed in its hope for a future bride 

waiting for a way to shine again 

there is a story 

that cannot yet be told 

 Not Yet 7

In a haunted jewelry box 

where a wedding band 

worn by my great great grandmother

given to me as a gift from

my parents at my first wedding 

once tucked safely in the ring folds 

waiting for a granddaughter’s wedding to continue the legacy 

there is a story 

that cannot yet be told 

 

Not Yet 6

In a haunted jewelry box 

where a gold Omega chain-

an anniversary gift with slides

that came as later gifts-

diamond slide

amethyst slide and others 

once safely nestled in its 

velvet and satin buttoned case

there is a story 

that cannot yet be told 

 

in a gift box 

where a pearl bracelet 

waits to be opened 

Christmas morning

precious stones from

a hardened shell 

taken from the sludgy mud 

of a bottom-dwelling world 

for a daughter starting 

a new chapter 

there is a story

waiting to be told 

Not Yet 5 

In a haunted jewelry box 

where a small diamond chip ring

-a Christmas gift in 1979 

from Santa –

marked for a granddaughter 

when she turns 13

used to be snuggled tightly between 

the pillowy foam ring folds

there is a story 

that cannot yet be told 

 

Not Yet 4

In a haunted jewelry box 

where a teardrop gold-set onyx 

with a K (for Kim) in diamonds 

once hung on its long gold chain

inside the wooden door 

a gift from parents at Christmas 

to bestow to a future K

there is a story 

that cannot yet be told 

 

Not Yet 3

In the haunted jewelry box 

where the wedding gift necklace 

of trinity gold 

from my loving groom 

once hung sentimentally

from its top gold door hook 

cherished as a loving memory

worn to remember, to celebrate

the day we wed

there is a story 

that cannot yet be told 

Not Yet 2 

In the haunted jewelry box

where the diamond tennis bracelet

with the extra security clasp 

(an ironic twist of a feature 

in so many ways) 

once lay beautifully in its

pillowy pink velvet section 

to be given to our only granddaughter 

on her wedding day 

there is a story to tell

that cannot yet be told 

 

Not Yet

In the haunted jewelry box

where the Gold nugget necklace

from a trip to Alaska 

once hung on a hook 

to be given to the daughter

who in fifth grade took that trip

when her dad bought the 

sparkling chunk for me 

before our divorce her senior year

there is a story to tell 

that cannot yet be told