The Tiniest Whale

in my grandmother's house there was
a tiny little bathroom
that none of the adults ever used
and as a young child I could go in there to
put on or take off my bathing-suit
(as long as i didn't use the good towels or
the tiny bar of soap shaped like a whale)
and this was a me-sized room
where i could reach the sink and
be all by myself
which i remember being a very precious thing
so (when my hands were dry)
i would pick up the little soap-whale
and whisper secrets to it
knowing that she would keep them safe
in the tiny little bathroom
that none of the adults ever used
with the do-not-touch towels and the bowl of mini-pine cones
and the me-sized sink that was getting rather low now
and i still picked up the little soap-whale
(when my hands were dry)
and hoped that my little whispered secrets
were still there
and I grew up and moved away
as little women do
and I didn't know that they planned to sell the house
until I came home for easter
and by then there was a new house growing where my grandmother's house had been
and I'm sad about the garden
and the smell her attic held
and the shelf with all the fabric
but
I hate that I will never know-
what happened to my whale?