Hammered Gold and Gilded Tin
It is a grail of sorts, the quest
for possession of a small
but precious and growing thing,
the evolution of a child.
The taste of truth is crafted
in a cup of beaten gold,
shaped plain and unadorned
of false or burnished pride.
The cup of venality
lies coated in thin enamel.
Gilded stuff, poor of substance.
Pretty, gleaming, shallow.
Which will nourish
the thirsty young?
From which a sip
for the future?
Hammered gold or yellow gilt?
Elixir or sugared syrup?
(Copywrite 2001)
