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Nan's Room

Today’s (optional) prompt is brought to us by the Emily Dickinson Museum. First, read this brief reminiscence of Emily Dickinson, written by her niece. And now, here is the prompt that the museum suggests:
Martha Dickinson Bianchi’s description of her aunt’s cozy room, scented with hyacinths and a crackling stove, warmly recalls the setting decades later. Describe a bedroom from your past in a series of descriptive paragraphs or a poem. It could be your childhood room, your grandmother’s room, a college dormitory or another significant space from your life.

Red oak furniture
given on her wedding day
held through seventy years.

Fresh made bed daily,
the finest, sofest white linen
ready for long nights.

We would go to bed
at a little after nine,
the walls absorb tears

of teenaged drama
and unrelenting bullies
she would cradle me,

silent listening
loudly pouring my heart out
and falling asleep.

Comfort in that room,
Nan's room was my safe space,
til she closed her eyes.