Jade Bangle
I covet the bangle in the pawn shop window
on Central Avenue: after two years, still
ninety dollars and available. When I walk
to the bank or pharmacy, I imagine it
on my wrist: cold and heavier than metal.
I’ve heard the cloudy green stone promotes
wisdom, balance, and peace. I heard the TV
in the other room when the announcer said,
“Chinese women used to wear jade bangles
to practice etiquette and move with fluid grace.”
Click of stone on stone meant clumsiness.
Later, on Google, I wonder if I had imagined
that history; search for “jade bangle etiquette”
yields little. I do find, however, anecdotes
from women who have grown into jewelry
they never removed. Maybe I’m too old
to buy jade, absorb the wisdom of immobile
reminders. Maybe the winters are too cold
to be graceful. Anyway, my wrists are covered.
Laryssa Wirstiuk lives in Jersey City, NJ with her mini dachshund Charlotte Moo. Laryssa’s literary preoccupations include fruit, gemstones, and coastal states in summer. Her poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction have been published in Gargoyle Magazine, Word Riot, Barely South Review, and Up the Staircase Quarterly. http://www.laryssawirstiuk.com
Copyright © 2016 by Laryssa Wirstiuk
Randomly Accessed Poetics 
Beauifully executed poem.