Pat Adams
In tribute to Mom – Claire Sullivan, a resident of the Compass Memory Support Neighborhood at Standish Village Assisted Living in Boston MA.
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She was dressed in lovely lavender, her favorite color
She said so, time and again, unaware of the repetitions
Wavy white hair framed a face softly lined
with creases that deepened when she smiled
a smile that was as wide as any 1st graders
It reached up over her pink cheeks to twinkling bluish eyes
both curious and questioning
———-
She seemed happy to see these strangers
who seemed somehow to know her
They greeted her one by one
like children lining up for something fun
Each lay a kiss upon her cheek
which to them, seemed so familiar
The kisses surprised her, tickled her sweetness
They joked and chatted, they teased
trying always to make her laugh, to please
As they talked she would buff and buff her fingernails
across the legs of her purple pants
A new tic or maybe a little bit of nervousness
done without awareness like breathing
or staring into space
———-
As she spoke, words emerged from her lips
that were incomprehensible
but try as she would
she could not translate this newfangled language
Could not un-garble the unexpected verse
Then she would get silly, clap her hands with delight
and say “butta ba boom!” as clear as day
They all laughed, happy to see her happy
She’d made a joke!
———-
On that note they prepared to depart
cutting the tangled strings from their hearts
Each preparing to move on into their day
“See you later Mom,”
they sang in falsetto as they left
Pushing back the dark clouds swelling
behind their eyes and inside their chests
filing these precious minutes into the back of the day
a secure place to hold them for a while
———-
Her smile became confused as she waved good bye
and as the distance between them grew
she would begin anew to buff and buff her fingernails
across the legs of her purple pants
A new tic or maybe a little bit of nervousness
done without awareness like breathing
or staring into space