My Museum of Lost Earrings

terracotta, painted bottle green
medium sized and delicate
a black bead hanging at the end

beaten brass sheet shaped like a leaf
handmade, once missing a hook
now missing in full

danglers in pink paper rolled
made by a friend who'd learnt
the craft to cope with loss

tiny gold coloured triangles
hanging loose from tinier red triangles
bought on a day I’d met friends now estranged  

a silver jhimki crushed by a moving vehicle
retrieved from the road
repaired but missing its pair

damaged, imperfect yet whole
their sparkle gone but stories intact
the exhibits in my museum of lost earrings