Lungs

Lungs

The cancer spread,

From your pipes to your lungs.

They took you,

And my mother too,

And the pain really stung.

From the pantry door,

Hung,

The picture of us on my first birthday.

I didn't know,

That there was a way,

For that smile across that wrinkled face,

To be hiding something so dark,

So grey,

That it caused such a sickly case.

Although you were within my reach,

I can't remember,

That last December.

A Christmas gift for me and my sister,

A word from my mother who kissed her,

And then you were gone,

The following spring,

As if that last winter was everything.

You lost to the illness we all fear,

The kind that chills you,

And draws your breath near.

You made us afraid,

Of the sickness you made,

That spread to your lungs and heart,

And ate you in pieces,

Before tearing you apart.

I didn't know you,

But I miss you.

I wish I could see you,

Hug you,

And tug you,

To lead you to a place where there's light,

Where the stars a gleaming,

Cold yet bright.

I was a child who saw you from afar,

And yet I once wished that I could be where you are.

Where the clouds are a puffy white,

And the grass a green sight,

Yet you are gone.

Cigarette drawn.

And now the grass is but snowy lawn.

Your grave is somewhere I cannot go,

Because though I didn't know you,

You were never alone.

Author's Note

Though I was very young, I lost my aunt to lung cancer and I miss her. She had an amazing personality and it crushes me when I think about how much my family went through when she passed.

Reviews

[Kay]

I'm so sorry to hear that you lost your aunt. =( This poem is a lovely tribute to her, you definitely captured the emotional experience.