Shelly

Some of you may recall a poem I posted a while back by Jess Katz. We received another since Shelly's death and I know Shelly would want to share it with you.

A Poem

by

Jessyca Katz

From the very first contact Shelly made it quite clear,

“my sister made me call, I don’t want to be here”.

When my schedule was tight and I didn’t have much space,

Shelly quickly offered to go to some other place.

But when I called her back with an opening at 2,

She hesitantly accepted, mumbling, “I hate you”.

Well, this was new, the first time yet,

that a client hates me before we even met.

So we both took a risk when she entered my space,

but I had to smile when I saw her cynical face.

She said, “Take away my sadness, it makes my family fret”

“but, I’m sure you can’t help, I’m willing to bet”.

She challenged from the start, put up her wall,

but it didn’t take long for her barricade to fall.

So she took a chance, she rolled the dice

and then once weekly wasn’t enough, she insisted on twice!

It didn’t take long for her to share her fears

to open her heart and shed some tears.

At the end of each hour, we held each other tight

as I encouraged her never to give up her fight.

And her fight continued to the very end

surrounded by loved ones, both family and friend.

Shelly’s greatest fear was leaving nothing behind

would she be remembered for being witty, artistic or kind?

Would Oliver be cared for in just the right way?

would she fade out of memory a little more each day?

What was her legacy? What did she have to show?

But within enough time, she started to know.

No, it wasn’t the silver heart hanging on a chain

or the duct tape bags that can withstand the rain.

The gift that she gave to her family and each friend

was the value of unconditional love to the very end.

She let down her guard, she allowed people to care

it no longer mattered that she had spiky orange hair.

She let go of resentments, all grudges were gone

and this is the legacy that Shelly passed on…

Jessyca Katz