Tag: Wipf &Stock

These skeleton keys hail from Portugal,
states the hand-drawn phrase on gray
 
cardboard, which provenance unlocks
my thinking as to what is so special
 
about these thin fingers of old iron and brass
that to my lay-eyes do not appear any different
 
from the domestic variety that might sell
for far less, especially as used item and even
 
worse lacking the complementary locks,
necessary for utility securing some equally lost
 
door or chest, but in which some expert
in Iberian antiques might find money
 
and historical value. I cannot rid
 
      thus, my doubt of the sign’s worth
 
and the wares, better left to the keener sight
and mind that can unlock the mystery
 
safe, pendant and plain before a blind view.