Through Blood, I Am Yours

A Poem for Akua (NaPoWriMo #30) Over the Years. A few photos of my cousin, Akua, and I. If someone told me I had to Be without you, I’d be D a m a g e d. Time would lend no healingPoint—no marker for getting overThe grief that would come. You give me a happiness thatHolds no name—no amount of Description could ever encompassHow it feels to know and love Someone like you. My cousin, my lifeline to sanity—peaceWithin peace on the darkest days.You’ve given me two beings who arePieces of you in whole form, and I haveThe honor of watching them morph intoMini versions of you. When you smile, the sun gets jealous.How dare you interrupt its shine!But you do so with little effort,And the world is so much betterWith you existing in it. I am in awe of your discipline—itMotivates me and keeps meCentered. I know we carryThe same blood coursing throughOur veins, so I am not surprised byWhat I see when I look at you. If everyone had a cousinWho greeted them with laughterAnd kisses and tight hugs and…