Cadence

For Auntie Nancy

I will see you in every pretty thing.

I will see you in iridescent insect wings

and the bright throats of hummingbirds.

I’ll seek you out in high white clouds.

Every blue sky, every evening rain,

every winter breath I take will remind me

of you; the beauty you saw; the life you lived.

You will walk beside me in department stores

as we stroll down the aisles, touching fabric, stroking sleeves.

You’ll point out gold-painted jeweled sandals

and hold everything turquoise up to match your eyes.

I’ll put on rhinestone sunglasses and sparkling bracelets

and, laughing, ask if I look glamourous.

You’ll always say yes.

But mostly I’ll think of you

when soft ivory caresses my fingertips.

I’ll remember watching your fingers fly through

Bach fugues, Mozart preludes,

Chopin nocturnes and Beethoven sonatas.

I will smell your hairspray like you’re next to me,

playing duets, turning pages.

Like Bach dedicated his pieces to God

every song I play will be for you.

To celebrate you I wear turquoise the color of your eyes.

I breathe in the scent of dusty music

and hear you play it in my memory.

I close my eyes and remember the hot summer afternoon

when you taught me how to play badminton;

the smell of the grass and bark; cold lemonade.

I remember sitting in your white wicker chairs

and drinking tea, like ladies,

and cuddling up to your softness to watch movies.

When I came to say goodbye

your cheeks were impossibly soft,

your eyes impossibly bright.

I think you knew who I was.

I think you kept your arms around me

just a little longer than usual.

I was your special girl; the daughter you never had;

and you were my favorite auntie.

You will live on in every pretty thing

and I will never stop watching for you.