Jennifer Henderson

 

Old Loved Lady

 

Fragile sleeping lady

crumpled up on cotton sheets

white walls and stainless steel

the smell of bleached bathrooms and floors

 

Waking up with wet sheets

the nurses peed on her again

she swears

it every morning

 

Fluid in her brain keeps the fog from clearing

 

Sometimes standing in her room

i witness her eyes

fade back into the present

 

In times like this

she can recall

this past summer

leaning over to whisper:

you’re my favorite