A hush
Fell over the room
And then came
The “Oohs, and Aahs”
As I entered.
Making me feel
As if I were famous
And walking the”Red Carpet”
My sister
A lover
Of hats
Was wearing a floppy black one.
Clearly delighted
She grinned widely,
As she stared at me
Hazel eyes
Peaking from
The rim of her hat
Innocent
And trusting
As a child’s
Shouting my name.
As others chimed in
Asking,
Is that your sister?
In a tone of wonder
A woman
Toothless
Her shaky hands
Made
The brightly colored bracelets
At least ten on each wrist
Clink loudly
As she came over
And caught me
In a huge“bear hug”
Some rocked back and forth
As idosyncracies
Ran rampant throughout the room.
No one
But the staff
Noticing
Or judging the
Mismatched outfits
Body distortions
Pacing
Laughing hysterically for no reason
Spontaeous groans and tics
Some clients
Sat around a rectangle table
In metal chairs
Some in wheel chairs
Played with toys
Or stared out the window
Clearly lost in their own world.
It was Music Trivia time
As the enthusiastic leader
Read question after question
But, there seemed to be
Only one participant
Who knew every song
And the date of its recording
A savant
Who was not interested
In much else in life.
The others
Cheered him on
Not quite sure themselves
What was being asked or said.
Taking it all in stride
Utterly amused
As they laughed
At each others jokes
Talking,
And calling to each other
Across the room
It didn’t seem to matter
That this game and most of its words
Were a mystery
As being together seemed to be
Enough
As many
Here
Had known each other
As small children
Struggling through
Special Ed classes together
They were comrades
Navigating an unknown world
Enjoying each other’s quirks
Later
Polly and I went out for ice-cream
As I tied her shoes in the parking lot
Holding her hand
So she would be. safe
Then
Sitting in the car
And reading out loud
Notes the staff
Had written in her
Daily journal
She smiled broadly
To hear her name mentioned
As she eagerly unlocked
The door
To her group home
Staff and roommate greeting her warmly
Leaving me
Feeling weightless
Lighthearted
Making me think of
Of a church choir
Singing
Like angels
In a lighted church
For
At the Day Program
Words
And accomplishments
And appearances
Were not important
Instead
Joy was felt
Just being near each other
Teasing playfully
Joking
Loving
Filling me with a serenity
That my sister
Was happy
And had found her place
In the world.
