Deborah

My heart aches as I watch you

dwindling away.

 

There’s no way for me to know if

You don’t eat by choice

Or if there’s something deeper

Consuming your flesh from the

inside out.

 

You were bold enough to confess

That you had a crush on me,

When we were in college.

I wish you knew how much that still means

to me.

 

Peter

I’m afraid you’re buckling beneath the weight

Of snow, and youth. I know all you really want

is to be home with us.

 

At the same time you must seek your fortune

on your own.

 

You call me on quiet Saturdays

When I am home alone, drinking espresso.

Sometimes your confessions make me want to

console you.

Other times I want to smack you.

In the words of Rick James:

“Cocaine is a hell of a drug.”

Rick wasn’t kidding,

was he?

 

There are places you’re headed

That I just can’t follow.

Joe

There’s a name for the demon that makes you

drown in air:

 

Pulmonary Fibrosis.

At the office we wonder why you aren’t

Out seeing the things we would

promise ourselves

Should we know the number of our own days.

Instead, you come faithfully to work

Hounding us about moving forward and

never stopping

Even when our own obstacles grow tiny in

Comparison to the shadow of devils in your life.

I’ve learned this from you, although

You’ve never said anything quite like it:

Step with sure feet and

God will whisper graces into your ear

While you sleep