Long-Lost Cousin Poem by Kim Barney

On Friday last week I went
to the graveside service
of a first cousin that I hadn't seen
for seventy years.

At least I think it had been that long.

When I was about eleven
and he was about fifteen
his family came to visit us.
They lived two or three hours away.

We played Monopoly.
I thought I was good at it,
but he thoroughly trounced me.

My childish ego thought
that he must have cheated,
but no proof was forthcoming.

He later joined the U. S. Air Force
and got to visit some exotic places
in the world.

Meanwhile, his younger brother
got into a bit of trouble with the law
and spent five years in the state ‘pen'.

I think the family was so embarrassed
about that, they never visited us again
as far as I can remember.

Meeting his children and grandchildren
at the funeral, and hearing so many
good things about him made me wish
that I had known him better.

And I didn't even know
that he was still alive…
until he wasn't.