My Paralysed Cousin Poem by Wei Chao

He is my cousin,
My aunt's only son,
Clever, eight years elder than me.

Close-knit families,
Grew up seeing him,
I look up to him as a good man.

He's a math teacher,
Married with two kids,
Lovely kids, he lives happy life.

I work overseas,
See him when I'm back,
We always have a lot to talk.


I make routine call,
Told, he got a stroke,
Mum says 'the stroke is serious'.

He's only fifty,
Kids are in uni,
He's on long medical leave.

I've arrived back home,
I go to see him,
Paralysis, right side, his strong side.

Years past, with a crutch,
Confines himself home,
He takes early medical retirement.

He's been on treatment,
But not improving,
Right arm and leg are a lot smaller.

He's now sixty six,
Again, I'm back home,
As usual, I pay
Him a warm visit.
He's alone at home,
We chat as usual,
Then, out of the blue,
Looking sad, he says,
'Living is no longer meaningful for me.'