Cindy

A poem written to my cousin.

 

CINDY

Room to room I would zoom, following your

speedy feet as closely as I could, asking you too many

personal girly questions, wishing you would want to be the big

sister that I never had. Listening to all of your favorite vinyl’s,

singing their words over and over.

 

Watching you curl your long feathered

brown hair and apply make-up  to your smooth freckle

kissed face, taking mental notes

on all of the steps needed to be a hip

California teenager.

 

Staying-up late playing dominos,

waiting for your arrival, so I won’t

have to sleep in that old feather

bed by myself. Fears of what snake or ghostly

creatures might suddenly attack

 me in the blanket of darkness. Besides I like

to watch you take your make-up off,

thinking I might hear some juicy

 details about your hot date too.

 

You did a lot of fussing and

cussing about how you

 needed your privacy from

me, how I was always

sticking to you like super glue.

 

Even as a grown woman

 I’m still looking up to you,

practically following you from

 room to room, calling you on the phone,

 constantly praying for you, asking

groups of women to keep praying

for you too.  Because I still love

you as much as I did back then,

Cindy, I want the best for you.

 

Funny how things hardly change

as this world continues spinning.

Only it’s not the style of your

dress or the way your wear your

make-up that I admire now.

 

It’s how you hold-up when

 life delivers you lemons,

you keep coming back with a girly

 smile on your freckle kissed face,

 

You are the most driven

 person I’ve ever known.

I’m so proud of how my brave

cousin has fought the ultimate fight.

You never let that skin b***h,

Melanoma, kick your butt.

 

You’ve shown up and fought

hard in every way that you could.

Surviving multiple surgeries on

 so many parts of your body and brain that I

squeamishly lost track of them.

 

Most people would have given up long ago,

you’ve survived years longer

than most people ever have when

diagnosed with Stage Four Melanoma.

Doctors are amazed!

 

But beating this disease isn’t enough for you.

No a driven and active person

like yourself, goes to Disney with her family

instead, and continuously rides all of the rides, including

Space Mountain!  That’s the feisty woman that I’m

so proud to have know, loved and admired endlessly

for all of these years!

 

Being the best Mom and wife you could be under

the gut-wrenching pain and strife, that’s to be expected

when recovering from any major surgery.

 

As a girl I was impressed with your make-up and curls.

Cindy, now it’s your will to live, your relentless stamina

that has me again admiring what an amazing

woman you’ve always been to me.

 

I’ll always be your chatty little cousin,

standing in your tall and lean shadow,

loving you very much and praying

constantly for you.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Reviews

[NoneOfYourBusiness akaK..]

an absoutely touching and gorgeous tribute ~ what a vivid sequence of frames you paint with your words~ from childhood to young adults to women~ you flesh both the narrator and Cindy out so beautifully one can amost touch the scenes~ you evoke emotions of perfect balance in the reader~ you present with clarity and insight and do not let emotions run to far with the sharp reality of what is happening in the poetic~if the Cindy in the poetic is a flesh and blood human~ how fortunate we are as a people to have such amazing stamina and volition and courage amongst us~a completely captivating telling~

[Black Cat Fever]

Very emotional. A tribute full of real love and admiration.

[Puzzle-bot]

This is such a beautifully written poem; I really like it. The passion in which you admire you cousin is amazing, as is the sadnesswhen she caught melanoma...Amazing!!

[Snapdragon]

I think she'd be as proud to have her in your life as you are of her. She sounds like a strong, brave, vivacious woman that anyone would be proud to know. This is a lovely tribute to her. You've done an awesome job on this one.

[Liza]

what a beautiful heartfelt dedication
cousins are just the best
i know this bond
a treasure of life
great flow!