A Promise Not Forgotten

Alex Trebek’s voice,

scratchy,

resonates out of the old T.V.

as it collects dust on the big box in back. 

The peeling, wallpapered walls,

fading,

reflect the dim light from the lamp,

making the pink flowers look shiny.

My little bare feet,

make little slaps,

as I walk on the creaky hardwood floor.

“Did you brush your teeth?”

she asks.

I nod my blonde head yes,

jumping under the patterned quilt,

into her warm bed.

Her slippers quiet her footfalls,

as she shuffles around the room,

readying herself for sleep. 

I watch her in the mirror,

as she wipes the lipstick from her mouth and

she runs her fingers through her short, grey hair,

then her eyes meet mine in the reflection.

My small, pale face,

with warm brown eyes and 

a small round nose,

sure does look a lot like hers. 

She kisses the top of my head 

and tucks us both into bed. 

“Memere?”

I ask,

“What is Heaven like?”

Her milky brown eyes search mine,

and her wrinkles settle in around her smile

like they have so many times before,

“Well I don’t know babe,

I’ve never been”.

I can feel my nose scrunch up,

into its position of distaste.

"You're supposed to know everything!"

She chuckles and pats my hand,

"No one knows everything Babe"

“Well will you come back and tell me after you go?”

“Of course, I’ll come back and tell you all about it” 

she rubs my temples gently and

my eyelids betray me,

inviting the sandman to visit.

A thousand sleeps,

A thousand visits from the sandman,

But I’m still waiting for you.

 

 

Author's Note

I've been working on this one for a few weeks now. Any comments and critiques are welcome.