Ode to a Matryoshka doll

Nestled among clutter on my bookshelf
Seemingly insignificant to the ignorant observer
Lacking any intrinsic value at all
Yet holding the utmost value to me

Delicately painted in vibrant colors
Regal red with specks of gold
Wooden faces ever so dainty
Painted in the small Russian Village of Lensk

And now you’re here upon my shelf
Stacked one after the other
Like chapters in a book
More valuable with every layer

Because only you and I know
What lies under your surface
There’s more than smaller versions of yourself
But smaller versions of me
Preserved in distant memory

Memory of my childhood
My innocence
Friendship in its earliest form
Its purest, unadulterated version

Given to me by my dearest friend
You are a time capsule
Holding the most precious relic of my youth
Reminding me of what I once had

A fossil preserving my past
Leaving it’s handprint on my history
Blessed reminder of the intangible innocence
We are all susceptible to losing

So you my Matryoshka doll
Are more than a bittersweet memento
You’re a sentimental postcard from the past
Forever sitting on my shelf

By MEGANH121212
Artist Alexander Maskaev