NaPoWriMo # 2

Aunt Ada

Aunt Ada came to live us
when she was 70, not able
to live on her own anymore.
I remember the long drive to Clear Lake
to bring the small, thin woman
back to our home.
Her house was dark and had a musty smell to it,
with lots of nick knacks
collected through the years.

Early on we found out she had cancer,
after a lifetime of smoking.
At Christmastime I went to Macy’s
to find a gift for her with
a friend from school. We asked
the salesperson for a teacup,
but it had to be “very light,
since she's not in good health.”
What a funny sight,
two young guys
in the China section.

Aunt Ada was a feisty old woman,
defiant to the end.
She sneaked the harsh Chinese cigarettes
my step dad brought from China,
that were too strong for him.
We found the empty boxes in her dresser
when sorting through her things,
after she passed away.

My mom passed on her dresser
to me, when I married 15 years ago.
It still sits in my room today.

April 2, 2008

The Diving Board for this poem was the prompt on Aunts over at ReadWritePoem.