EMERALD, RUBY, & GOLD

By Farah Lawal Harris, 2024

My parents are tried-and-true alchemists:

married 57 years and counting,

my Mama and Daddy

spun lead into gold

in their mid-life years.

No wonder

Mama’s birthstone is emerald,

her life an etched sentence in my mind

of all that is resilient, striking, and regal.

Mama continues to teach me what it means

to be a queen.

Meanwhile, Daddy gave me

his bright smile,

wisdom, and perfectionism.

In my mid-life years,

I am more honest with them.

I’ve called them crying,

sharing my tears and fears;

allowing their words and prayers

to soothe me.

No wonder

my birthstone is ruby!

Being a Cancerian with cancer

made me mushy and vulnerable,

rocked me back to the role of child.

I am forever their baby.

In my mid-life years,

I savor their stories from the past —

hit ‘Record’ when I can

or type notes furiously.

This is how I keep my parents alive

for eternity.

I venerate my parents

while they are still here on earth

to add ease to my ancestral practice

for future me.

Future generations will know their names,

and through their children,

their legacy.

In my mid-life years,

I embrace a life of ease.

My life of ease declares that

I am not obligated

to trouble my mind to recall every

watered-down memory.

So I write down the stories.

Six months of chemotherapy

erased about 6% of my memory.

Good thing I consistently record my history

through poetry.

My life of ease declares that

I carry on the alchemy.