Lily, Growing a Little Older

Today I broke the china cup—
not on purpose.
I was going to take a sip.

It fell on the floor and all
I had was the little handle.
That cup was white with blue willows.

Mama said her mama gave it to her
before she died.

I saw the look on her face
when she heard the crash on the floor.
I saw the air leave her chest.

Then she told me not to worry, said
the cup fell once before.
She patched it up with flour paste
and knew it wouldn't last.

I don’t know what's worse—
to think you ruined a thing
or find out it was broken all along.