Legacy
By
Copyright 1998
Thinking of “Downy”
for doing the laundry,
I penciled “s-o-f-t-n-e-r”
on my grocery list.
Frustrated, I drew a line
through it.
The second time,
I wrote “s-o-p-h-n-e-r.”
Panicked, I scribbled it out
like a child coloring.
FLASHES
OF MOM’S
ALZHEIMER’S
STRUCK
LIKE LIGHTNING
SINGEING
MY ESSENCE
WITH ZIGZAGS
OF WHITE-
Finally, I wrote “s-o-f-t-e-n-e-r.”
LIKE A DAM
BREAKING,
CASCADING
RELIEF
FLOODED
MY BODY.
I whispered thanks to God,
grabbed my car keys,
and went shopping .
*Published in Portals, Spring, 1999
