Two
years of living far away, in a strange,
exotic world
Wrought a life-long friendship with a
young Brazilian girl
Bernadette was always vibrant, and
beautiful to see
But a crucial blow of fate left her in
utter poverty
She
always wore a ring of gold with a pearl
upon her hand
And a bracelet with her name engraved
across a golden band
Presents to a favorite daughter, she had
once been told
Her father's senseless death made them
more precious than their gold
She
never once in those two years removed the
loving gifts
And every time she spoke of them, her
spirit would uplift
So barren her attire would seem without
the gifts of gold
Remembrance of a father and the tales he
always told
When
time ran out, I left that place, a sad and
rainy day
My friend was quite distraught to see her
best friend go away
Good-by was such a sad word she couldn't
say or understand
And as she turned, abruptly placed some
trinkets in my hand
I
looked down with predicted fear of what I
might behold
It was a lovely pearl set in a simple ring
of gold
And a bracelet with a golden band, and on
it finely etched
In beautiful scrolled letters, the name of
"Bernadette"
So
grand a gift I felt inside I simply
couldn't accept
But in her culture, such an insult no one
would expect
Forced to take them with me, I shed a
hundred tears
But kept them in a box marked "Bernadette"
for many years
One
day I ventured back, to visit friends that
I had known
And saw my dear friend, Bernadette, two
daughters, fully grown
For each of them a little box, two gifts
offered with pride
The first girl found a ring of gold with a
lovely pearl inside
Their
mother quickly glanced upon the other
daughter's lap
Knowing well the contents of the present
still unwrapped
She couldn't hold back the words, She
said, "I know what is inside
It's the bracelet that my father gave me
just before he died"
She
said I gave these gifts to you, they
cannot be returned
I responded, in my culture there are
things that you should learn
A mother's very precious things, those
closest to her heart
Are given to her daughters, of whose
heritage they are part
These
should have been your daughters' lovely
treasures all along
I'm just returning presents to the place
where they belong
With tearful eyes she fingered both gifts,
handling them with care
And said she had some thoughts about these
gifts she'd like to share
"I
never thought I would behold these
precious gifts again
Your gesture signifies to me how truly
great a friend
Each time I see them I'll recall a
cherished memory
The sparkle in my father eyes as they were
given to me"
"My
daughters now can share the visions I've
held in my heart
Of happy days before my father and I were
torn apart
Each time they wear them I'll relate a
story of his past
In that way, in their hearts my father's
legacy will last"
