Kellie from Albemarle (but not Pickler)

My cousin Kellie Sue is 55 today but
I remember her the way she looked atop
the roof of Grandma's well house,
on the moss back in the grove,
or that year we wore the matching
Easter dresses. She's caught up to me,
until December when I'm 56, but we will
always have our memories of Albemarle
and Florida, too, though less. I must request
new memories, I think, perhaps some fruity
drinks that sit there on the table there between
us on board ship. A cousin cruise! That's what
we need for Kellie, Stacey, Becky, me. But
in the meantime, I'll be toasting from afar
and hoping she is laughing, as her laughter
is contagious. That way everyone around her
will be having fun, 'cause fun's important
on a birthday even now.


(c) Ellen Gillette, 2013

Preparing to move yet again, my photos are mostly put up, and I couldn't find one from our childhood. We made quite the crew, we four girls and the lone boy, Jimmy Tucker, may he rest in peace.