I knew you from childhood:<\/p>\n
the lanky, laughing preacher\u2019s wife,<\/p>\n
mother of my cousins,<\/p>\n
a pleasant, distant presence<\/p>\n
in my world of hide-and-seek and fireflies.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
I knew you, but only as a child knows,<\/p>\n
looking up.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Then I was thirty-five.<\/p>\n
You, fifty-seven.<\/p>\n
You stepped through the doorway<\/p>\n
of my father\u2019s hospital room.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho is this?\u201d I thought.<\/p>\n
You wore a plain blue suit,<\/p>\n
the dash of red lipstick, an afterthought<\/p>\n
on a face otherwise unadorned.<\/p>\n
Then, I recognized the short white hair,<\/p>\n
as white as it had been among the fireflies<\/p>\n
when you shouted. \u201cChildren, time to come in.”<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
We met<\/p>\n
woman to woman,<\/p>\n
eye to eye<\/p>\n
across the waning body of this man we loved<\/p>\n
so well.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cYour Daddy was so good to me,\u201d you said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe took me to the county fair,<\/p>\n
me, just me, leaving the four older sisters at home,<\/p>\n
puffing with envy.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
And so began the<\/p>\n
Gift of Hours,<\/p>\n
The two of us in<\/p>\n
Timeless Space,<\/p>\n
opening our stories to each other,<\/p>\n
woman to woman,<\/p>\n
eye to eye.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
You knew so much.<\/p>\n
A nurse since World War II,<\/p>\n
you spoke to the legion of doctors with<\/p>\n
firm, gentle authority,<\/p>\n
\u201cAre we trying to cure him, or are we trying<\/p>\n
to make him comfortable?\u201d<\/p>\n
They met your eyes,<\/p>\n
bowing to your wisdom.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cSo this is what it looks like, \u201c I thought,<\/p>\n
\u201cTo know oneself,<\/p>\n
to reveal oneself with surety and grace.\u201d<\/p>\n
Could I aspire to this as well?<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
You noticed.<\/p>\n
Oh, Lord, you noticed.<\/p>\n
You could see the question in my<\/p>\n
hungry eyes.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
As Daddy slept, breathing deeply,<\/p>\n
comfortable at last,<\/p>\n
we talked.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
There was, we discovered,<\/p>\n
so much to talk about.<\/p>\n
Whatever picture I had of you from childhood<\/p>\n
melted in the reality of your thoughtful presence,<\/p>\n
your easy laugh,<\/p>\n
the wonder of your original mind.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Sitting across from me in the cafeteria,<\/p>\n
you crunched your tuna sandwich,<\/p>\n
in no hurry,<\/p>\n
asking me what I thought,<\/p>\n
so curious<\/p>\n
about my <\/em>original mind.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n We had so many passions<\/p>\n (the role of women, the nature of power in the world, a fascination with consciousness, the mystery of faith\u2026)<\/p>\n We talked so freely,<\/p>\n with no husbands, or brothers, or bosses to issue<\/p>\n contradictions,<\/p>\n (though you would later say, \u201cMen just have to do things<\/p>\n a certain way\u201d, cautioning me against judgment )<\/p>\n <\/p>\n That week, my soul found a home in yours.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Now, I am sixty-three,<\/p>\n You, eighty-five.<\/p>\n My heart is filled with gratitude,<\/p>\n with joy, with love.<\/p>\n I see you,<\/p>\n woman to woman,<\/p>\n eye to eye,<\/p>\n knowing<\/p>\n all that you are,<\/p>\n all that I, through you, \u00a0have come to be.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n For Doris<\/p>\n By Betsy, aka Elizabeth Clark-Stern<\/p>\n May, 2012<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I knew you from childhood: the lanky, laughing preacher\u2019s wife, mother of my cousins, a pleasant, distant presence in my world of hide-and-seek and fireflies. I knew you, but only as a child knows, looking up. Then I … Continue reading