Video poem:

Photos

A small rectangular photo of my Grandma Clara and I.

I am four years old, curled up on her lap in her favorite rocking chair.

A picture of my Grandma Daphne and I.

I am six, standing next to her at the table on Thanksgiving.

A snapshot of my Grandma Sharon and I.

I am eight, sitting at her kitchen table on Christmas, with the scarf she’s knitted me.

I wonder what picture would come to mind if I knew my Grandma Doris.

Where would we be?

How old would I be?

I clasp her necklace around my neck every morning,

Thinking of her when she wore it, the gold heart resting on her collar.

I try to imagine that she looked like me when she was younger.

I try to picture her as a teenager.

I think of my grandpa, sitting next to me,

Too old now to recognize the necklace of his wife.

I want her back,

Even though she was never there.

I want to hand her the necklace,

And thank her for letting me borrow it.

I want to sit with her on the porch looking over the water at her house,

Side by side on the couch,

Smiling towards my Grandpa as he snaps a picture of us,

For me to keep.