She’s Gone

Her body lies

still and prone on the

chipped yellow kitchen counter

A worn, blue washcloth

covers the wide mouth of an empty

Karo Syrup bottle where her head rests

Her grandmother’s

hands massage green Prell

over her head and neck in lazy circles

Warm soapy

water flows into the sink

creating mini tornadoes twirling down the drain

She startles awake,

confused in the darkness of the present,

caught in a moment of rare childhood memories