The Blue Vase was read on the ABC  about twenty years ago. I'm glad to air it again here.

THE BLUE VASE 

She is more

My mother's daughter

than mine.

I hear their laughter

in the living room

while I make tea

in the kitchen. 

When my grandmother died

Her daughters

divided her valuables. 

From the waste heap

I rescued the blue vase. 

My grandmother told me

Her mother had brought it

from Scotland.

It had belonged

to her mother. 

The blue vase

Sits on the windowsill.

Beside it is the one

my daughter gave me

made by some modern potter. 

Beyond the living room

My granddaughter plays in the garden.

When she is grown

I shall give her

the blue vase. 

Laurel Lamperd

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Available as a download from www.omnlit.com

Joe Hennessy builds a sheep station in the Carnarvon district of Western Australia.