she was the age I’m now,

on the day she died

too soon to say goodbye, so much to be missed

 

she kept the family tied together

with an invisible thread she took with her

on the day she died

 

I thought we were a cohesive family

enjoying everyone’s life

having dinners around a table

 

I think it was envy

that made them all turn on me

I was closest to our mother

 

we had a relationship

not just mother and daughter

we were best friends

 

first to cross the line in the sand was my own daughter

then followed my sister, then my beloved brother

then my father, who had always been mean to me

 

my family is lost to me

no more holiday dinners

no happy birthdays to share

 

I survived a profound depression

trying to understand why

why my family could do this to me

 

I still love my daughter unconditionally

I could find it in my heart to forgive her

but no one else deserves me

 

I suppose we weren’t so happy

how could we have been

to fall apart so painfully

 

on the day she died

I held her hand till she passed

I felt her soul leave her body

 

I feel her presence in my life

her soul touches mine

I’m not alone…she loved me