For a brother, and dad,
for the truest of friends.
Pure of spirit, purely glad,
Journeyman into the bends.
The sun rises in his mind,
As it sets into his heart.
And when the moon rises in TJ,
Civility will fall apart.

"You look like me,"
you said, not knowing how true it was.
Still, the words flow with you
erratic, unstoppable,
beside me.
When the light shifts,
and the ego dies,
I see you there, and I smile,
in awe of our art.

What words are there
for the air, personified.
For when I met you, you told me,
"I see me in you."
and the music soared.

When the world bent,
and I was moved to sit for a moment
and weep, for all my sickness,
you were there.
And when the wind howled,
and I heard it shouting my name,
the rain pelted us, but I laughed,
for you were there.
And now, home,
When I need to smile,
I can walk down the stairs,
open the door,
and you'll be there.

When I remember the day we met,
I grin. For what could be more valuable
than the man you meet,
and immediately,
flee the occasion for a companionable walk.
The sun shone, and you told me,
"I think all life is beautiful,"
and the remarkable wisdom you breathe
shook the world and sky.
My eyes open, and you are gone,
but I climb out of bed quickly,
inspired by the fire
behind your eyes.

It is a special bond,
truly,
when a man tells his friend
the level of dissociation he has reached.
Better still, however,
is the friend who can smile and say,
"Oh. You mean this?" and laugh, already knowing
the secrets you've been struggling to put in words.
But you don't need to.
Because there are some people who need no words,
because they just
know.

In life, it is a rarity
to meet someone
who smiles
from the bottom of their soul;
who grins, not as an expression
and certainly not for others,
but because they simply
cannot help
themselves.