Before she left
Sarita put her costume jewelry
In a cookie can
From Italy:
Two watches, neither running
A paste pearl braclet
With a rhinestone clasp
Plastic lockets purchased
From a catalog.
Before she left
Sarita emptied every bureau drawer
Of chipped agate brooches
And tarnished silver rings
Tin can brimming with
Artificial beads and bangles.
All packed away
With precious care
Sent by parcel post
To her daughter
A continent away.
The only thing she kept:
A green silk necklace
Beaded with gold thread,
From a love
Before her spouse,
She whispered to me,
And never worn.
She loved faux glitter,
Feared the loss of what was real.
At her soft plea,
I placed the necklace
In her coffin
When she left.
Adding your comment:
Ahhh, the things we cherish rarely have a monetary value to speak of, do they? Your pen dances in so many directions, Lita - all of them fruitful and enduring in loveliness. 
