For Melissa
by Judy Davies
It began in first grade. Playground partners, lunch buddies,
skits, studies, classmates and friends. Always together.
You were tall, thin, with long blond hair. I was short, athletic,
blessed with a head full of dark curls; so different, yet so alike.
How you could draw and paint! My forté was the piano.
You sketched your way through my weekly piano lessons,
then shared them with me on the way home. I applauded
your local art show displays; you never missed my recitals.
High school years flew by. We met our husbands at college.
I was your maid of honor, you my matron of honor, Godparents
to each other’s children. You raced to the hospital when my husband
had his heart attack. I was there when you were diagnosed with cancer.
We were like sisters. Though not at all related, our lifelong
friendship treasured like purest gold. Cancer took you home today.
Your striking art will forever grace my entrance hall, your family
always a part of mine; yet life will never be the same.
Poet/writer Judy Davies resides in Gautier, Mississippi. She is a past president of the Mississippi Poetry Society Inc. and active in its South Branch. The four-time winner as Mississippi’s Senior Poet Laureate and its 2013 National Senior Poet Honor Scroll Winner, her poetry and prose has been published nationally and internationally. Kenvad Music & Books published her first book, Poetic Images, in 2011. She and composer husband, Ken, recently collaborated on and released “Poetic Soundscapes,” their narrated poetry CD with custom-crafted music. Davies holds multiple degrees and is a retired professional musician. She has four children, seven grandchildren and one cat. The cat still lives at home.
Read her poem Song of Spring published in Deep South this month.