davinci and aunt marion

'she could be beautiful,'
i remember when mom said that.
diabetes had stolen Aunt Marion's legs
and her eyes.
and her dreams.
but she could be beautiful
like the venus de milo
in a wheelchair.

'she could be beautiful,'
Mom would say softly
to me
to herself
praying that diabetes would not claim her
her eyes
and her dreams
and her beauty.
like mona lisa
knowing that wheelchair is hers.

'she was beautiful,'
she said the day Aunt Marion was layed to rest
with the pieces of her long buried.
with her eyes
with her dreams
with the memories of her laughter
before the diabetes and the wheelchair.