Downcast faces all around
We all look at your pictures without a sound
Your handsome face a midst
Everyone talks with hushed sounds
As if the weight of grief has crushed their voices
Your parents grip, and ungrip, but never let go
Your brother is not tight, but stares determinedly at the wall
I hardly dare to breathe in the crowded auditorium
But I gasp quietly in the solitude of my room
Your sable eyes shined as you smiled
I remember
You studiously worked after school
I remember
If I had touched you on the shoulder as you worked
One of those days
Would your bright sable eyes smile at me again?
I feel
I feel those five years soar through my mind
Dissipating as I struggle to forge on but never forget
Your soul was pained
Your shell picturesque
If we had seen
Not with cursory glances
Your paintings and photos soaked with green
Would it have dawned on me or them?
I do not know
I cannot say
But you should know, Mitch
My life is less rich
without you