There really was no way,

That I could watch her suffer, day after day.

I saw her try smile through her pain,

I thought that I might go insane.

She tried to hang on with all her might,

She fought right up to the very last night.

The disease was much stronger than we were told,

It was relentless, unmerciful and very bold.

2 to 5 years was how long they said she would live,

A week and six days was all the time this disease would give.

She died quite early in her twentieth year,

Those who loved and cherished her shed many a tear.

She left behind a daughter, who had just turned four,

A child she treasured, a child she adored.

I mourn to think what her daughter has lost,

How death has cheated her, at such an exorbitant cost.

This child has grown; she is a young woman today,

She is smart and bright and always has something to say,

But when I listen to her voice and look deep inside,

I see the grief and anguish she is trying to hide.

If she could only know, from her memories and not mine,

That her mother worshipped her and was loving and kind,

I pray the day will come, when she can find inner peace,

For she is my sister’s only child, she is my treasured niece.

-Margi C.

Copyrighted1998