a little disney doll

i took henry to see tinsley the other day
usually we just wave and call down the hill
but i thought he was ready for her grave
to really see that he could not see her

and all of his questions
are ones that i have heard before
but they do not get any easier to answer

and i repeat to him what i repeat to myself
“her body is here, but her soul is with God”
(and we both look round and round)

he liked the little disney doll
that keeps her company on her stone
he picked it up, and gently gave it a hug
before returning it to his sister

and when it was time to leave
i wondered what had sunk into his 2 year old brain

many days later on a trip to target
i would hear him exclaim her name in pure joy and excitement
–(in a way that i had never heard and i almost choked on air) —

“tinsley, tinsley!!” he cried across the store
running to a little disney doll

and he pointed and laughed and looked at me proudly
because he knew his sister and he knew love
and he shouted it by name