A Memory

The little red tricycle
remains on the sidewalk
where a child left it
so many months prior.
Rust clings to the handlebars,
eroding metal and memory in each
passing moment that the child
leaves the toy abandoned.
Mildew rings the rubber handles
and white plastic tassels the child
so loved. Diminishing, the taint casts
age on what once was cherished greatly.
A rotten seat stays on a broken
metal joint, clinging with slowly
degrading fibers to a time
that held so much joy and life.
The little red tricycle
remains on the sidewalk
where a child left it.
He will never return.