January 19, 2023

I Spied You in a Junk Shop

by Victoria Clayton in Australia, travel0 Comments

An Unexpected Find
I spied you in a junk shop
in a little country town,
outside on a trestle table,
among many tables piled up with rusted metal
you sat, a rain-smudged beacon of a long-ago time
and I thought how strange to see you there
after all these years.

And I remembered how you once sat
(or one like you)
on a small round wooden table in the kitchen
with your siblings –
the dark brown saucers,
the matching side dishes.
Like you they were speckled cream ceramic
with bold childish blossoms
in burnt orange, tan and beige.

As I stood there in the junk yard,
brushing the veil of dirt from your flowered face,
I wondered who could ever have chosen you
or found you beautiful?

And I remembered how when we were small,
we sat around the table,
that little kitchen table
set with ugly earthenware-
and ate
and talked
and laughed
and learned
and loved.

I remembered
and then you were
a bright thing
there among the rusted things,
and so I bought you for one dollar
from the junk shop,
in a little country town.
And went home and made a cup of tea.





Beaufort, a town in Central Victoria, where I found the cup. 

Beaufort junk shop


About the Author

Victoria Clayton

I write narrative nonfiction, essay and poetry on a range of subjects: archaeology, travel, history, thinking about the past, ancient figurines, what makes a well-lived life?

You can use tags to choose the blog posts that most interest you.

Thanks for reading. Do leave a comment if you'd like to.  I'd be delighted to hear from you.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked

{"email":"Email address invalid","url":"Website address invalid","required":"Required field missing"}
keep in touch!

Sign-up to the (roughly) fortnightly newsletter to receive writing updates and other bits of news from me.