As my graduation draws near,

A dark cloud rains guilt on my soul.

She will never see her day.

She will never walk to the beat with her classmates,

As they signify the end of their road together.

Her end has already come.

She will never hear her name called over the loudspeaker,

And listen to the cheer of her family in the stands.

Her Father has already cheered as He welcomed her home.

She will never accept her diploma,

Symbolizing all the hard work she will never complete.

Her work is over.

She will never find hugs from teachers she will never have.

Her passed loved ones are the only ones she hugs now.

She will never throw her cap and know the feeling of true accomplishment,

That all these years, her fighting has not been in vain.

Her fight is dispersed in all of us.

My dark cloud holds new purpose and new meaning,

That I am not doing this for myself, but for her.

She silently follows me on my day, the day she will never have

And I let her,

Knowing that once it is over,

She might finally find the peace withheld from her for so long.

In Memory of Cari Lee Cohen

May 14, 1995 - May 4, 2012