Nana’s Shower Cap Brooch
By Anna Jacobson
Published 1 January 2021
i.
Mum gives Nana a shower cap
disco ball sequins sewn on top
aqua brooch pinned above the frilly trim.
‘I got one for my birthday too.’
Nana’s laughter makes the diamantes dance.
ii.
The music stops and I’m not ready.
A nurse tells us to collect Nana’s things.
Presents I once gave her
photos
stories
Chanukah cards
drawings
returned to sender. Among the objects
is Nana’s shower cap, still full of laughter
and glitter-memory.
iii.
The Synagogue walls are woven with prayers
and men’s shushing. A layer of tradition
from Nana’s time. ‘Lovely brooch,
was it your grandmother’s?’
One of the men shushes the women’s section.
My brooch winks light into crystal chandeliers.
I smile and whisper after the Rabbi’s blessing
that it came from Nana’s shower cap.