I, Object

How many stories need retelling

for this object to achieve sentimental value?

Does importance have an expiration date

that’s reached when no one’s left to gather in celebration?

How many years must elapse

before this object becomes a family heirloom?

Does perpetuating an affiliation to the past

become burdensome to those living in the present?

How many memories are required

to turn this mundane object into a cherished keepsake?

Does nostalgia become obsolete

after multiple generations are gone?

Is my legacy inevitably doomed

to suffer the same fate as this object?