My First Memory (Age 1)

The morning sunlight woke me
      and filled the room with amber.
      When it reached my crib,
       it infiltrated between the bars,
       casting bumblebee shadows against the wall:
               yellow, black, yellow, black, yellow, black.

The room was unfamiliar,
      not my usual sleeping place.
      So when I woke, 
      I did so with loud cries.
      I screamed until she appeared in the doorway.

I heard her voice first, 
     before I saw her face.
     Her voice serenaded the silence,
     soft and light--a gentle lullaby.

When she rounded the corner,
     and entered the room,
     I knew I was safe.
         My screams turned to sniffles,
         sniffles to whimpers,
         whimpers to deep breaths.

My grandma lifted me from the crib,
      and smelled my head,
      She placed me gently onto the twin bed,
      and changed my diaper.  

"Stinky, stinky, stinky boy," she sang.
"Stinky, stinky, stinky boy," she sang.
"Stinky, stinky, stinky boy," she sang.

One last sniffle.  
One long, deep breath.
Finally, a smile.  

​My first memory.