My Best Weaponry

My best weaponry consists of two inconsequential items
yet of great significance both

A cross necklace I got from my Aunt last Christmas
with leather cords and pewter 't' with equidistant arms
The catch broke off and I replaced it with
a bead of Jade from China
it leaves my neck for 15 minutes a day
hardly enough time for the demons to work their way in

I don't know if she understands how much it means to me
this weight I carry, which is far too heavy and yet too light
Because thank yous have a tendency to meet the mundane
to chat about the weather and how school has been
but never get to the heart of the gift

Then a pocket knife from my ex's late great grandfather
with a dirty cloud swirl and two now-dull blades
that cut too much sod at the Puyallup Fair last summer.
Now the shorter of the two rages through packaging tape
like the tooth of a silent and determined beast
cardboard collapses, meets the baler
but time cannot be cut away

I never met him, received this gift in death
and now the bridge has burned
and I will never know the man
who owned this tool before me
and I am too busy for sorrow

And I am armed, both body and soul
with the best weaponry possible