Digging into the past
is a literal term when one unearths
a time capsule.

Unexpected discovery
in the garden of my new home,
prodded from underneath the dirt
by a tiller.

I expected to find the remains of a pet,
in the rusty metal box.

No pet skeleton under the lid,
but a skeleton of a different kind.
The skeleton of joy extinguished.

Black and white photos of a young couple.
Newspaper clippings about a wedding.
Letters from an army private in World War II,
postmarked France.
A medal.
An obituary.
A wedding ring.

She buried her sorrow.
I pray that she found resurrection.