Aunt Helen

My parents never took me
To a concert or a show.
The city wasn’t where they ever
Felt the need to go.

But luckily, I was exposed
To things that did enchant.
For that I owe a debt
To the umbrella of my aunt.

As metaphor, she took me in
And underneath her wing,
She opened up the world to me,
The joy that it could bring.

The Philharmonic, Broadway shows,
Hot chocolate made from scratch;
The special times I spent with her
Nobody else could match.

The other meaning’s literal –
For just like Cinderella,
I felt transformed as I would twirl
My very first umbrella.

It was my favorite gift from her –
Emblazoned with my name;
There haven’t been too many since
That made me feel the same.

Aunt Helen will be laid to rest
But she will always be
A person who knew just the way
To reach the soul of me.