I called my sister today.

She’s been in a nursing home

over the holidays.

I have not been sleeping well.

When she answers the phone

I rest back in my chair

it’s the soft tone of her voice, an instant pleasure,

my first love, my beloved.

I am myself because of you.

Love a small boat, it leaks and has seen better days

It’s a tenuous sistuation

we tip with the slightest movement.

But even if we fall out

cast into the cold water

I will reach for your hand

and I will find it.

You wanted to tell me something funny,

“They have a all purpose soap, you said

and I washed my hair with it today,

and when I looked in the mirror

my hair lay limp and thin and flat to my face

I looked twenty years older, I looked like mom

I looked just like Annie, remember her hair?

I laughed so completely and we had ourselves a bit of fun.