Today July 4, 2026, is Cynthia’s (Alvoid nee) Bah-Traore Birthday. A true firecracker baby.

A Poem For Cynthia, on Her Birthday

Today the sky remembers you.

The summer sun lifts its golden face,
and the Fourth of July unfurls its banners of bright lights,
Sunlight and moonlight were not enough for
Your very first night on earth

the sky was filled with celebration.

You were born carrying radiance,
a Black woman fashioned from grace and courage,
from the prayers of mothers
and the dreams of sons yet to come.

As a teacher You taught children to believe in themselves.
You opened books
and opened worlds.
You planted knowledge
where fear had tried to grow.

You loved as mothers love—
with hands that held,
with words that healed,
with a heart large enough
to shelter many.

Five years have passed
since we last looked into your eyes,
since we heard your laughter
rise like a song through a room.

Yet absence has not erased you.

No.

You live in every remembered joke,
every child encouraged,
every family gathering
where your name is spoken
with tenderness and longing.

And so today,
on what would be your 45th birthday,
we refuse silence.

We speak your name.

Cynthia.

We lift it high
above the noise of passing years.

Cynthia.

We send it up in prayer
across every mile,
through every unanswered question.

Cynthia.

For grief is love contininuing.
Memory does not surrender.
And a life that touched so many
cannot be forgotten.
Know this - as deeply as You know your own name:

You are dearly missed.
You are loved.
You are lovingly remembered.

Today.
Tomorrow.
Always.

Happy Birthday, Dearest Cynthia.