DOLPHINS

There were dolphins
and glow-in-the-dark
stars on the walls.
That and pink paint --
the room was bare,
empty of furniture,
empty of the girl
who had lived there,
who had watched the stars
slowly dim
as she fell into sleep.
Did she dream
of those dolphins,
leaping, playing
along a far-away shore?
Ah, did she dream
that she was with them,
one of them, and not
a very small girl
whose parents were losing
their home and each other?
How could I know?
All I have seen
is a pink room with dolphins
and glow-in-the-dark stars.

Stephen Brooke ©2010

There is such a room. It is in the house where I live. Now, it is my mother's bedroom but when we first arrived here it was empty of all but those little girl touches, the pink walls, the stars on the ceiling, the dolphin wallpaper border. I've wondered at times about the folks who lived here before we bought the place; all I know is the bank foreclosed on them. And their name, as mail still occasionally shows up in our box.