the mirrors of heaven

The Friendship Series
Installment 7: Gladys



Grandpapa's spectacles cannot be found
He has searched all the rooms,
high and low, 'round and 'round.

I mastered this poem to recite in fourth grade-
the humorous tale
of an old man's mistake.

He gathered his grandchildren to scour the whole house,
unaware of the object
that perched on his nose.

Finally the youngest
looked up, smiled, and said:
There are the glasses, on Grandpapa’s head!

Now my grandmother's memories cannot be found.
We have searched all the rooms,
high and low, 'round and 'round.

I think of the poem and want to be the grandchild to shout
There they are, in your head!
and watch her shake them out.

But I'm met with a blank stare when I walk in the room,
and she asks me
if I've ever met my mom.

So turning over the house, the chambers of her mind,
we pick up the pieces
her life left behind.

Memories misplaced, our true selves temporarily hidden
until that glad day
when we look in the mirrors of heaven.