When dusk settles
And the orange fades to violet,
When night falls
And the moon rises in the sky,
When children slumber
As the stars twinkle in the distance,
I finally let my thoughts drift to you.
To balconies littered with African violets.
To macaroni and cheese with cherry tomatoes.
To your ever raspy voice
As it wove into my imagination
The sepia-toned memories of your youth.
To pushing your wheelchair
Up and down the hills of the zoo.
To saying goodbye on that windswept hill
Overlooking the city you so loved
And will forever watch over.

When trains rattle
Across iron-wrought tracks,
When dreams ensnare
My subconscious during the day,
When someone calls out
My full untruncated name,
Your face rises unbidden to my mind.
The baby blanket you sewed for me
Before you even knew me.
The gameboy you kept for me
To play with on our "special days".
The letters you penned faithfully
To the seven-year old me,
Though I was no longer "officially" yours.
The pain at having to say goodbye
But not knowing where you are.

To the great- and step- grandmothers
who had no obligation
Towards me to love or care or cherish
But did so anyways every day
You were in my life
Before the Fates cut your threads,
I love you, and I thank you.