I wasn’t going to write today. My tired body and weary mind said, “Nope. You are all out of gas.” Then I took a walk. While walking I listened to sweet Ada Limón on her poetry podcast The Slowdown. More than the poem she read, I was inspired by her introductory words. She said, “There are symbols everywhere.” I took that line and mused on it. This is what I dictated into my Notes app (with some revision).
There are Symbols Everywhere
No one noticed
I wore my grandmother’s bracelet–
charms with each grandchild’s name
engraved, missing Beth, the youngest
born too late to make it onto the chain
before Nene’s death. I wonder
if she wore the tinkling charms
placing me in the center of her circle
a symbol of her love for us,
or a symbol of God,
family, humanity?
It is a symbol
nevertheless
to me, to me.
Reflections on the Teche 