Keepsake

Discovered today,
one blackened rose
pressed between the pages
of an ordinary, if heavy,

tome; gingerly set aside
to regard the yellowed,
rose-stained cardstock
beneath it, also a misplaced

remembrance--long forgotten
school dance that swirled
back again fullblown,
silver spots circling red-lit

walls amid flashing strobes
and a bass line that pulsed
with the beat of young hearts
looking for action, if not love.