Because you are not my mother 
Because we do not talk 
Or text 
Or write 
Everyday  
Because you are not rich, nor greedy
Because you are written into my life as only a piece 
A piece of a homemade apple pie 
The pie that is only eaten on special occasions or holidays 
Yet you are the piece with all the sugar and spice and ooey gooey goodness

You were 
Indirectly 
Accidentally
Put into the 
Insignificant 
Nonessential 
Category 
But you are none of the above 

You were birthed as a loving daughter and a younger sister 
With your anything-but-purple colored bedroom walls and roller skates 
As your curls were not always perfect coils 
And your grades did not always start as the alphabet did
but you truly remain
A mother
An aunt
A role model
A hard worker 
A person held to the standard of the Empire State Building 

In every language or font or lifetime 
You are bold, you are underlined
You are important 
No 
You are of immense importance

You are the living image of a pinky promise
A shimmer of sunshine yellow glistening above your head 
A night-in girl of sloppy joes with original lays potato chips

You are the reason a 22-year-old girl wears her curls natural
With her flawless flyaways and frizz surrounding her crown
And takes selfies in a big circle mirror 
With the corners of her mouth turned upward, not down
You are the reason a 15-year-old boy fills his shoes with brown dirt
On a giant, square grass field 
Just because he wants to 

You prove everyone is a work of art 
A true Picasso 
A glass that may be half empty- or full
But no matter what, it can always be filled more

You do all you can do, just because you can
Just because you chose to, just because you want to