“A ring passed down too soon”

I put the golden band on my fourth finger, connected to my heart.

The same ring my grandmother wore on her wedding day,

Passed on to her first born daughter,

But she never got the chance to wear it on her wedding day.

A life taken too soon, she was full of life and it got ripped right out of her hands.

July 1973 was the last time she’d ever wear that ring.

After saying her last goodbyes, the ring became my mother’s when she was 11.

2014 it made its way into my hands, I wear it with pride in memory of my mom’s family.

Her sister who died when my mom was 10, her father who died when she was 14, her mother who died when she was 36.

All of who left this world too soon, too sudden, too bitter.  

Debbie, I wear this ring for you, the aunt that I never got to meet, while you dance in the constellations the way you did that summer at Juilliard.

Warren, I wear this ring for you. An aspiring pilot, and also a grandfather of 9, none of which you ever got to meet.

Gladys, I wear this ring for you. I may not remember you, but from looking at pictures with you up until I was 2, it’s obvious that I loved you.

This ring was passed on to me too soon, but I wear it happily for all of you.

-m.e.d.