A Poem for Akua (NaPoWriMo #30)

If someone told me I had to 
Be without you, I’d be 
D a m a g e d.

Time would lend no healing
Point—no marker for getting over
The grief that would come.

You give me a happiness that
Holds no name—no amount of 
Description could ever encompass
How it feels to know and love 
Someone like you.

My cousin, my lifeline to sanity—peace
Within peace on the darkest days.
You’ve given me two beings who are
Pieces of you in whole form, and I have
The honor of watching them morph into
Mini 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 better
With you existing in it.

I am in awe of your discipline—it
Motivates me and keeps me
Centered. I know we carry
The same blood coursing through
Our veins, so I am not surprised by
What I see when I look at you.

If everyone had a cousin
Who greeted them with laughter
And kisses and tight hugs and 
Warmth, I have no doubt, the
World would shift—love would
Be the connecting point at every
Turn.

On this, your day of birth, may
The stars align to grant you
What you wish for, and what you
Know you should have.

And if anyone crosses you
In a way they should not, may
The cracks in their life fill to the
Brim with glueless tension and
Unsavory anxiety.

The wars I would fight for you
Are endless. 
Although I don’t want to,
Know that I would. 

Happy Birthday, Coseen!

*30 of 30 for NaPoWriMo is finally complete. Thanks for rocking with me for the entire month of April for some feel-good, heart-searing, humor-inducing, and joyful poetry.