Smiles

Today I visited
a woman with blue eyes
and white hair
and a sweet smile
in her room in a nursing home.
Over and over she said,
"little baby, little baby,"
while cuddling and caressing
a toy baby doll
(also with blue eyes).
She had nothing else to say,
but greeted me warmly
with those twinkling eyes
looking frequently into my brown ones.

I was reminded today
of the first time I visited
a lady with severe dementia
three years ago.
Jane spoke total gibberish
if she spoke at all.

Visiting her for the first time,
I realized with great alarm
I would have to hold the whole conversation
without her help.
While I've grown more comfortable conversing,
at least in general,
I still do better
with someone else also talking.

So, naturally, I panicked.
I just sat there and grinned.

And she lay there in bed...
and grinned back.
For the better part of an hour.

After that, every time I visited,
she lit up like a Christmas tree.
The facility staff and her family
all remarked on it.

She taught me how to visit,
how to enjoy someone's presence,
without ever saying a word.

Thank you, dear Jane,
for being one of my teachers.