Preserves

The jars were in the basement;
Did we even know they were there?
Why were they preserved?
Was it fear? Was it cruelty?
Perhaps...
But it was love that filled them,
Love that kept them safe!

Let's clear away all the junk,
All the stuff we crammed down there.
I know there will be good things inside:

Not every person can sit on the floor with a child;
Not every person can save their first kiss for thirty seven years.