The Legacy——Day One

Slowly, very slowly she climbed the stairs
higher and higher
as the door swung open
to what once was
her life

Sun beams
shone through the one
and only small window
dust motes dancing
above what lay below

slowly she picked her way
through the scattered
mementos of what once was:

shoes too small
too fancy
never to be worn again
a pair of silken slippers
from her first marriage
cast aside
so long ago

love letters
yellowed by time
some in tatters
gnawed by little mice:
they liked the taste
where tears had fallen
in times of sadness
and regret

There was the jewel case
where the ring of her
last marriage had resided
now buried above
the heart of
her husband’s mother
who lies
alone and forgotten
in an unmarked grave
overgrown with weeds
and one lily
that she had planted
oh, so long ago.

Tired,
she sat in the dusty chamber
resting
when she saw the little bird
pecking at the window
singing her a song
of love
and promise of yet
another day
of beginning
of being in gratitude
for the love
she feels in her heart
ready to flow out
into the world
to touch someone
to comfort someone
who is lonely,
suffering,
just waiting
to know
that they are not alone
that they are loved
and being held
in a golden field
of divine communion.