Sounds from the Heart

Softly pillowed

cocooned in blankets

my bed too comfortable to leave

Sound waves carry

across rooms

and hallway

to tickle me into awakening

Cups clink on saucers

utensils scrape plates

laughter ringing amid

half heard words

Undecipherable sounds

piercing my sleep

until one  

warm  

lilting voice

heralds through

“Breakfast is ready”

She calls to me

I know it is to me

I am the only one still abed

Aromas follow

Strong and tempting

Yet still I linger there

Hearing the voices

louder now

As ears awaken too

My sisters

My dad­­­­­­­­­­­­

My mother

All together

In the little kitchen

of my youth

I snuggle happily

into the mattress

bowed perfectly to fit me

And feel secure

loved

and safe

My family are all here

There is love

In every corner

of this wonderfully chaotic house

“Breakfast is getting cold now”

She calls

but her voice is fading

I lift my head

from the softness of the pillow

wanting to hear her clearer

I open my eyes

And a strange silence

thickens around me

I stare

at nothing

for this is not

the bedroom of my youth

Decades have past

since those warm

Saturday mornings

My sisters live in different states   

My parents are twelve years gone.

I am fully awake now

The dream has run away

I’m in my own home

My husband sleeping soundly by my side

But the dream

squeezes my heart

It will never forget

What is lost

And wishes

for sounds

It  will never hear

And days

that can no longer be shared

I snuggle deeper into my soft pillow

Fight the mattress that does not comfort

And try to dream

to dream of

a voice

her voice

once again.