Does the Rain Ever Stop?: Poems and Musings

for jeff

It was 2017,
Your casket wide open,
During a calling hour that I did not want to answer.
Too young,
Too soon,
Too much life taken from you that you never got to regain,
And I never even got to talk to you about it.
My brother gave his Bruins jersey for the service,
Since none of your dozens fit you anymore,
A metaphor of sorts.
You outgrew the jerseys,
Which trickles down to you outgrowing hockey,
Which for you,
Meant you outgrew life.
You were a star on the ice,
But your light dimmed before you got the glory,
And isn't that all too common?
Parents burying their children,
The entire family hovering over a body that should be standing beside them.
I wish you got your redemption.
I wish you were able to prove people wrong,
To live life and have something to show for it.
But I suppose you do.
You have your family who will never forget you.
A church full of people who loved you even if you didn't know it.
And you will forever be alive in my poems because I will not let your struggle be for nothing.