I’d have to leave
Back out to the country
Full of mud, bugs, and trees
No kids… no friends
Nothing to do
There’s only so much
sourgrass to chew
But 10 acres over
A quick walk down the road
Past grasses and berries
And the occasional toad
Lived an interesting woman
Not normal at all
Because "who’d want to be normal"
She’d say then guffaw
I’d plead with my dad
“Can I please use the phone"
I just had to see
If by chance she was home
I’d pick up the receiver
and put the numbers in
I had them remembered
It was ninety-four-ten
My uncle would answer
But I’d always say
Can Auntie Nina
come out and play?
And play we would
We’d pass the time
Telling stories and jokes
Drinking sodas with lime
Monty Python… Rubix Cube
Simon. Red. Green. Yellow.
Or was it red, green, blue?
Microwave fudge
Coming out of the freezer
“I don’t like how you make your N’s”
I would tease her
The years had gone by
And I’d gotten older
My life was much harder
On my back was a boulder
But who was there
to help ease the weight?
My Auntie Nina
who’s greater than Great!
Huckleberry Finn and
Lord of the Flies
We’d piss and we’d moan
And we’d roll our eyes
But it wasn't just schoolwork
It was really much more
She kept food in my stomach
Washed the clothes that I wore
She’d pack up my lunches
She’d take me to school
While somebody else
Was just being a fool
You see, she didn’t have
to do all this,
After all, I wasn’t hers
...I was his
But do it she did
Day in and day out
I never heard her
Whine or pout
She’s more than my family
She’s more than my friend
She’s wonderful, fabulous
With a shoulder to lend
Nina Lane
I don’t even know
Where I might be today
Or how low I could go
You reached out and caught me
When I thought nobody could
And it’s because of YOU
That I got up and stood…
But the years keep on passing
And now I’m all grown
At least I think that I am
But how would I know?
Because life still is hard
Just like it was then
But now I look back
And I can’t help but grin
About cookies, and buses
And fresh tomato gravy
And Scrabble, and cigarettes
When your hair came back wavy
A big dog named Hooch
Face full of saliva
And my very first ever
chocolate from Godiva
Nina how do you do it?
Facing the world with a smile
When you know that the world
Can be oh so vile?
I read your posts every morning
You’re always upbeat
Such loving warm words
And I think that it’s neat
Because if I know that you’re smiling
Then I know I can too
And no matter what the day brings
I know we’ll pull through
Well, I guess I’ll end here
Even though I could say
So very much more
I could go on for days
But the point of my words
Without further ado
Is to tell you Aunt Nina
How much I love you.
*****
I did make a video about this poem. You can check it out below!
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