My wife has a huge collection of porcelain Limoges boxes that we’ve gathered over our 20-plus years together. I try to gift her one every month accompanied by a poem. Some of those poems are admittedly very corny. I try to keep an inventory of what we have, especially because we don’t have room to display them all at once. As a result, there is a traditionally a wall-mounted box on the living room wall with twenty cubby-holes. As each holiday or special event comes along, she decorates the box with season-appropriate Limoges. 

On a couple of occasions I have bought her duplicates that might be painted differently. For Halloween I bought her a haunted house with green ghosts, for example. Ten years ago I purchased the same design with white ghosts. Once she caught the mistake, I shipped it back to my Austin dealer that is always very cooperative. He claims that I am by far his biggest customer, although I don’t exclusively use him for every order. There are antique dealers and those that specialize in Disney designs that I will work with on occasion. He exchanged the Haunted House with one painted with “Trick or Treat” ghosts. 

The Halloween display has since been replaced with Thanksgiving, and the ghosts went into storage without a poem hidden within its hinged structure. I was cautious about buying one for Thanksgiving, afraid that my list might not be accurate. We therefore shopped together on the website to find one that she would appreciate. Only 15 of the twenty cavities are filled with this particular holiday, since Christmas always seems to be the shopping priority at this time of year. Also, there are limited options for the occasion so we have to get creative. We’ve already got Pilgrims, Indians, Cornucopias, and Pumpkin Pie, along with many varieties of pumpkins and turkeys. She decided on a simple ear of corn, one of her favorite foods any time of the year. It speaks of her Hoosier roots, and living next door to a cornfield. Here’s the poem that I included, along with some make-good thoughts about the rhyme deprived “Trick or Treaters.” 

Born of Corn 

Your Limoges display,
Makes a seasonal change.
So each holiday,
You rearrange.

Twenty squares,
Each month to fill.
Each box still,
A special thrill.

Halloween full,
With “Trick or Treat.”
Thanksgiving sparse,
You’ll have to cheat.

At Christmas time,
You need twenty more.
And extra bins,
In which to store.

Birthday, Easter,
Independence Day.
Happy New Year,
Even the month of May.

Themes like travel,
And even food.
And one to capture,
Nearly every mood.

You have so many,
It’s hard to keep track.
With limited space.
It’s pack and unpack.

I’ve often misordered,
Re-bought the same.
I keep a list,
And take the blame.

To fill-up November,
You requested maize.
Served on the cob,
Among other ways.

Just like me,
You’re Hoosier born.
What that means?
You like your corn.

Copyright 2019 johnstonwrites.com