Mary Jo Balistreri

The Treasure Hunt

Squeezing against the side of Chicago skyscrapers, we seek refuge from the bone-aching cold, my husband pushing hard against the first street door that budges. Close behind, I fall into him, stumble into a room blasting forced hot air. We stand just inside to recover our bearings, disoriented with the sudden heat. As we remove gloves and scarves, unbutton our coats, we try to look around. There is no place for the eye to rest. 

remembering
gramma's curiosity
cabinet

Moving through a maze of natural history artifacts, sculpture, mobiles suspended from the ceiling, my eyes glaze over. I find a stool while my husband discovers an Egyptian vessel, various corals, antlers, claws, and precious stones. He asks me to look at the miniatures—Chinese jade, cases of rare shells, ostrich eggs, and many oddities with no names.

He wants to buy something, several somethings. He shows me an easel with a rectangular seascape of unfinished edges. Look at the color he says, the blue and grey stripes, the same on both sides. There’s a simplicity about it, I say, and encourage him to buy it. But first, he wants me to look at a Seiseki viewing stone. (I know this loving setup, showing me something good and then moving on to what he really wants.) The owner opens a glass case.

solid
yet shifting
in the beholding

Frank holds the chosen one with reverence—a calcic mudstone removed from the earth as it was, but mechanically cleaned to bring out interesting shapes. This one is almost black and looks like a bear, ridges, and indentations where one could imagine muscles. I look at my husband, the delight in his eyes, the almost smile.

We leave with the bear.

still on the sill at home
his first collection
Petoskey stones

---

About the Author

Mary Jo Balistreri has three published books of poetry and a chapbook. Even when “Jo” isn’t writing haiku she is thinking about it as it helps her to maintain a sense of gratitude and appreciation. She and her husband live in Duluth, Minnesota. Visit her at maryjobalistreripoet.com.