This week would have been my uncle's 66th birthday.  He unfortunately passed away in April 2004 from liver cancer.   We were not especially close while I was growing up.  However, we were able to connect in his last few months of life.  This is a poem I wrote a few months after his passing.

"I never got the chance to tell you"

I never got the chance to tell you

that I loved you dearly.

I never got the chance to tell you

that I still wanted you near.

I never got the chance to tell you,

that your light is bright as the stars.

I never got the chance to tell you

how special you really are.

I never got the chance to tell you

that you inspire me to go on.

I never got the chance to tell you

that your words help me stay strong.

I never got the chance to tell you

that our meeting changed my life.

I never got the chance to tell you

that I will keep up the fight.

I never got the chance to tell you

that I will miss you when you’re gone.

I never got the chance to tell you

that we will meet again at the dawn.