I remember those old patterned scarves
you’d wrap around your head
covering your soft curls
when we piled in to your old station wagon
that sat low on the road with the flat bench seat
that I’d slide across when we sped
down the gravel drive,
past cold metal chickens
that still remind me of you.
But you
were everything but cold and hard.
You were my angel,
an aged Audrey
straight out of a movie.
But on the screen
you adored young Shirley,
who filled your book cases
with her innocent face and golden locks.
You’d pull out those kiddie plastic chairs
and we’d get lost
in her silly song and dance
around the living room.
Your laugh was contagious
and smile, the most beautiful
one I’d seen.
Your gentle soul
warmed everything it touched.
And your warm cookies
would melt in my mouth.
The sweetest compliment
to the savory
pasties we’d buy from the station
down the road.
I’d trace the letters
crocheted on your fridge
and think of our old dog –
but now
when I see SISU
I only think of you
and I remind myself
of the hardships
you endured
and your gritty courage
that carried you to the finish.
Someday,
I’ll take you in my heart
across the sea
to the home of our history.
Just Me, Jasmine Lee 