day 20: heirloom

Untitled. Victorian femme with a delicate profile,
end of their nose cutting through water, the ship’s bow
Hair up, chin up, hat on, leaning forward.

Nana, née “maiden name”.
It looks like her. A reimagined her through the lens of her.
She was never quiet in my time, always a news reel,
sometimes a marquee. But this was done in

1948. A time I never knew her.
A time I never imagined at all, in whole.
Younger than me, unsure,
about to make all the decisions that would lead to--

Pencil on paper. Pointillism. Delicate.
Suggested: gentle into that good night,
and gentle she did, but not in light.
A nail holds her here in hopes that I can remedy that lack of light for the rest of my time alive.