Read the poem.

Friendship Charm

It’s a cheap flimsy thing.

You can get them for a dollar at the grocer down the street.

A metal charm on an easy-to-break chain. The kind that turns your skin green.

It did, one summer when I wouldn’t take it off.

She’d moved into a house on the next block.

We’d never met, and then it was like we’d never be apart.

Swapping crummy dollar necklaces like priceless jewels.

For two years we went everywhere together.

Then she moved again.

We’ll keep in touch, we promise.

The necklace tossed in a drawer.



I found it last night.

Digging through my jewelry box for something else.

Thought I’d lost it years ago.

I snap a photo, text it to her.

Minutes later, my phone buzzes.

She still has hers, too.

I hang mine on the mirror

And reach for my phone to text again.

What is the effect of the necklace on the meaning of the poem?


It symbolizes the enduring nature of friendship.


It symbolizes the superficiality of many friendships.


It represents the fragility of friendship as people age.


It represents the changing nature of friendships over time.