Ruby

Technically,

You are a plastic bead

Shaped like a star

That didn’t come out quite right

And got crumpled up and thrown in the wastebasket.

You have edges and corners –

None of them sharp,

And your faces are dusty

But durable.

You no longer fill my whole hand.

But when the sun kisses us,

We still glow red

Like firefly breath and first-day-of-school backpacks and flowers just ready to bloom –

The color of adventure.

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