SHE GIGGLED IN HER SLEEP

She giggled in her sleep
quietly, almost cooing
like a baby lying on its back
and watching a mobile
of giraffes and elephants
circling overhead

It is easy to imagine her
as a child with wide innocent eyes,
each moment bringing a new discovery
with no awareness of the grownup things
happening around her
No sense of loss yet
except for a piece of candy denied
after she could already taste it
in her mouth

She grew up unremarkably,
bright and talented
with no great ambition
just a sense of adventure
always "on go" to see the world and
everything in it
She married young, had beautiful children
lived a long, productive life
and died

Somewhere along the line,
after a painful divorce,
while she was still young
she found she actually could love again
and life became full
Lying next to her some early mornings
when the deepest dreaming is done
I could sometimes hear her giggling
She was never aware and couldn't believe it
when I told her
She denied that she dreamed

But I am sure that giraffes or elephants
or just the replaying of scenes
from a romance novel
brought on that gentle laughter

Lying there, sharing her warmth
feeling her breathe
was so comforting to me
Her giggles, her laughter, her smile, her love
are part of me forever

Jim Morgan  August 18, 2009