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La Dama - The Lady

My Aunt Socorro -a truly wonderful lady- is the eldest of eleven children, an avid reader, and a terrific pen-pal. From her home that is situated over 2400 miles away from those she grew up with, she records every birth, keeps our family history, and always sends a birthday card. Here are two poems she wrote way back when, and shared with me some years ago. 

*Based on the antics of her two younger sisters: my Mom and my Nina

THE INCORRIGIBLES (8/16/1957)
Oh! My sisters are so pretty,
But such naughty little brats,
That they play with crickets
And chase after cats.

I tell them not to do it,
But the rascals disobey,
As if they were not afraid.
So I have to turn them over,
And over them indeed I hover,
As I smack them with my hand
to make them understand.

But they keep on being bad,
So that I no longer care
What they do or what they dare.



*This next one is about my mom before she became a mom. For those of us who know her well, we'll recognize it as a perfectly accurate description of yet another amazing lady. 


SYLVIA  (7/12/1958)
Sylvia, with the long, brown, hair,
And skin so smooth and fair,
With her tiny, rosy lips
And her pointed fingertips;
Is the loveliest of them all
Though she be so frail and small.

She's adored by many men,
But she cares for none of them-
All she wants is to be free,
Like the sky, the air, the sea.
Hers is not a married life,
She won't ever make a wife.

Love her men, but from afar.
For, indeed, she's like a star
That will gleam and shine above,
And in you inspire love,
But you know that it's a laugh
If you think it's yours to have.

So it is with this fair child,
who is tender, who is mild, 
Who would have been left alone,
Had her beauty never shown.
Now she's seeking, and in vain,
Peace she'll never have again.

Yet, the day must surely dawn
When the world will find her gone.
Men will seek her low and high,
Here on earth and in the sky;
Should they look toward Heaven far,
They will see a brand new star.


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