REMEMBERING ANNETTE
March 19, 2009
REMEMBERING ANNETTE
Those who didn’t know Annette may have thought she was homeless. They may have thought the house just south of Darlington on Amherst was abandoned. Neither was true. The house on Amherst was Annette's castle and home for more than 50 years. Annette was a special person who cared for her neighbors, their pets, nature, and more. She taught us many lessons and we cherish her memory.
Annette
What if someone watched over you
Always, from the shadows
Caring about you, ready to help
Yet strong enough to be rebuffed
Should you, well not you, but someone,
Decline or scowl disapproval
At the ragged clothes and rugged face
So often streaked with earth.
What if you noticed the sparkling jewel eyes (you did?)
Sitting, like sapphires atop a treasure chest of secret stories,
Never to be shared. And what if this someone,
A tiny chameleon who blended into the bushes,
Or stood lizard-still beside a maple tree,
Watched over you,
Always, from the shadows
Caring about you for
Years, decades, even.
What if this someone, a woman, Annette,
Knew more than anyone ever thought
About the people in her world –
Not just their sadness,
But the gut-wrenching reasons for it.
Not just their joy,
But the deep-down cause of it.
What if Annette had greater insight than the therapist
Who dissects the mind, analyzing each piece, yet
Unable to put the puzzle together,
Or the doctor who claims the power to heal,
But can’t touch the patient,
Or even get close.
What if Annette only appeared frail and weak,
But had the power to push a shopping cart for
More than a mile. Uphill.
And the strength to hold the door marked “private”
Shut for a lifetime, no matter who tried to tear it down.
What if Annette read the newspaper on a daily basis,
Without glasses, and knew how to
Take care of her own body, stopping to rest whenever and
Wherever she needed to, on the grass beside the curb,
Under a tree in the alley – making her body last for 92 years.
What if Annette survived on the fruits of the neighborhood,
Grazing the alleys for figs, wild raspberries, grapes, and apricots -
Ever grateful for small gifts of food, clothes, blankets
And other necessities from caring friends like Louise,
Vicky, Diane, Charlene, Leah, Brian, Nai,
Paul, Marie, Bernard, and so many others.
What if Annette remembered every kind act,
Bit of food given to her, every “Hello, how are you today?” –
So meaningful, and held each person in her heart
For five, ten, twenty, thirty, forty, fifty years?
What if this brilliant beauty, (you noticed it, too?)
Whose light shone on those who looked back
Into her eyes, lived a rich life, filled with purpose
And only the best intentions, ever,
Died the way she lived and exactly the way
She wanted to go, at home, in her sleep, at peace.
What if she’s not gone, just watching
From another place, like before when
She was an angel in disguise.
© Jacqueline Hirtz, 2009 catapult.us@verizon.net
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