Death and dying taboo subjects...

not far from the lips when in earshot of Amelie
my eldest sister undergoing chemotherapy
for lymphoma of the breast
and a couple of other suspicious areas
on her skin in close proximity.

Now a cursory overview of Harris highlights
to help the reader understand mein kampf.

Yesterday, March 26th, 2026,
she left a voice message
after weeks of inactive communication
with me, a singular brother,
who cares about her welfare
since the day of my birth
January 13, 1959.

Flashbacks unexpectedly occurred
minutes ago while pondering
what else to write,
whereat remembrance of things
past found myself
(with my eldest daughter in tow -
who happened to be in grade school
at Belmont Hills)
spending time with Bubba
(an appellation my mother preferred
versus being called Grandma
or some such variation)
at 324 Level Road
Collegeville, Pennsylvania)
the house most of mine living years
got ill-spent,
though decades removed
since she ranted and raved
with savage brutality
about me getting
a decent haircut and job
(trying to convince yours truly
of the merits of being
a health care worker,
but absolute zero interest prevailed
catering to the personal needs
of someone at the age
these words of mine
now got tapped out)
mostly exhausted from being overtaken
by the ravages of uterine cancer
(even warranting a hysterectomy
tuckered out thee old gal
and severely limited mobility
of a former ballroom dance instructor
at Arthur Murray dance studio,
who once taught my father
not just fundamentals
of fancy footwork,
but how to seduce
an attractive gal vidēre licet,
willingly surrendering herself
to his flirtatious overtures,
and allowing, enabling,
and providing non
verbal communication signals
to keep on truckin)
until he eventually proposed
on bended knee.

Eventually they begat a family
with the first offspring
they named Amelie Beth,
who soon after celebrating
her first birthday
December 1st, 1959
would soon receive a bundle of joy,
a scrawny bag of lovely bones
named Matthew Scott
born on January 13, 1959,
who screamed himself
red in the face,
which most definitely
necessitated the close comfort
of my mommy dearest,
cuz whenever anyone else
dared to calm a writhing,
wailing, and flailing miserable baby -
oh... by the way
welcome to parenthood
mom and dad,
the dastardly only young woman
who unfairly evicted me
from the womb
paid the price
to mollycoddle her second born
and singular son
no less than
twenty four hours a day.

After sloughing off
all the tears in my reservoir,
I evinced an introspective
quiet natured disposition
nevertheless still exhibiting
favoritism to the mother
but endured competition
when yet a third mouth to feed,
a kid sister they named Shari Todd,
whose conniving persona
quickly affected our daddy
to succumb to her gentle demands
unlike either myself
or the first born,
which probably contributed
to the dynamic disequilibrium
wherefore Amelie
felt displaced and harbored
an envy or jealousy
toward the last born to finagle
even the most resistant target
and to wheedle a resistant person
(whether kith or kin)
to carry out some
otherwise impossible mission
(like move the rock of Gibraltar
from here to there)
nobody else could
convince or persuade them to carry out.

Resentment festered within the psyche of Amelie
whose perception throughout
her girlhood, adolescence
and young adulthood
distinctly believed mostly mother
and father to a lesser extent
appeared to cater to the whims of Shari,
who could do no wrong
and experienced a captive audience
whenever she shared
about ordinary experiences
but more so exploits
after she left the nest
as soon as she graduated
with honors from
Methacton High School
the Alma Mater all three of us
received our high school diploma.

Shari took life by the horns
and most often accomplished
what she set her sights
focused on objectives
and took whatever necessary risks
(mostly positive growth challenges)
to promote self sufficiency
and relied on her “smarts”
to economize on precious resources
like money and time
and I recall (if memory
serves me correctly)
she strongly asserted
receiving board compensation
so rather then spend gobs of hours
waiting in line at the cafetaria
consuming less healthy food
than she wanted, the costs
linkedin to those Freshman fifteen
(pound weight gain),
found the costs recouped
not frittering away financial aid money
allowed, enabled and provided
cooking vegetarian meals instead,
which trajectory of confidentially
relying on brains and brawn
forged her daring do
far and wide when she transferred
and matriculated as a transfer
second year student to Antioch College
in Yellow Springs, Ohio
the Buckeye State
and challenged body, mind and spirit triage
selecting necessary inter-semester co-ops
(a necessary requirement)
to become a top notch alumna
which helped set her sites
becoming a globe trotter
NOT from Harlem,
but equally gaining insight
how to cope and adapt
amidst unfamiliar environments
putting skills to the test when she and Andy
(her husband now
edging up to being fine lifetime companion
heading into their fourth decade
of wedded bliss,
which string of mostly successes
and possessing The Golden Touch /
Midas Touch (Gender-Neutral):
The phrase "Midas touch"
used for anyone,
regardless of gender,
who owns an uncanny ability
to make money or ensure success
and when regaled other
family members or friends,
the figurative spotlight
showed a bright future
on a plethora on extensive
mentally, physically and spiritually
trying ordeals, where she matured
into a very charismatic, diplomatic,
manage dilemmatic circumstances
as well as being
pragmatic, and systematic.

Only thru the current tragedy
of a life and death scenario
whereby the sixty eight year old sibling
currently afflicted with a potential
terminal health crisis
did the impasse of scads of years witness
sibling envy, where Shari – a high achiever
transcended any obstacle
and always maintained a sticktoitiveness
where "The scales have fallen from my eyes"
an idiom meaning to suddenly realize
the truth or understand
a situation clearly
feeling intimidated in the company
of a supremely steadfast sister
after a period of ignorance,
deception, or blindness, and signifies
a moment of sudden,
often transformative insight
where previous illusions are removed.