Kamala Rodrigues
It’s one of those fuzzy, blurry, earliest of memories.
I must’ve been four. My big brother five.
Don’t know the season, as it was just comfortably warm in the house as the sunbeams
went horizontal and let the dust dance in their bellies.
I was in his room. Not exactly a “sneak”—we weren’t old enough to disavow right of
entrance—but I was getting a good rummage in on his special shelf.
Pale green shelf.
Not the best paint job.
I’d never seen a beeswax candle.
It gave off the slightest honey smell.
Pleasant, mild, warm, safe.
Brother.
Since the diagnosis, I’ve kept a beeswax candle on my shelf.
Today I lit it.
About the Author
The only daughter of an engineer and an artist, Kamala Rodrigues, MD is a Neurologist in the Veterans Affairs Health Care System and Associate Professor (Affiliated) at Stanford University School of Medicine. Her work borders between poetry and prose, with inspiration from the line physicians walk between humanity and science.