He tapped me on the shoulder
Before he had to go
Said I'll be your Guardian Angel
I just wanted you to know

He said he knows no one who went
That came back and then complained
So he guessed the place was pretty nice
And was sure he'd want to stay

He knew he'd see my grandma
Who had went three years before
She'd been waiting for him patiently
To walk him through God's door

Then he asked us not to worry
Said he knows what is in store
He was pleased with the life he lived
And knew God would show him more

Spent his last three weeks with family
Where he said his sweet goodbyes
My final memory of this man
Was the brave ending to his life

He would give to me this passion
But to the world he gave much more
The life he lived was one of love
He was the gift I most adored

In Memory
Sgt. Harold Addison Yates
My Grandfather

*Carl Joseph Roberts

don't**
ask me what i think about poetry
i never think about poetry
but
sometimes more often than others
words will creep into my skull
and dance around my soul
they'll bicker with each other
and grasp at each others hair
until i am forced to release them
from the damp of my fingertips
and exhale them
like the dense clouds of smoke
that they are

Even though I knew it was finished before it began,
even though I knew that I never truly had you,
even though you told me I had a chance,
it was only almost, but not quite.

Even though you told me you loved me,
you turned right back around and held someone else dear.
Even though I thought I was content,
I wanted all of you.
Even though you brought me to tears,
I thought it was worth it.

I'm tired of trying to care,
tired of trying to talk,
tired of you wasting your breath
and my time.

You always told me that it was better to have loved and lost
than to not have loved at all,
but I'm telling you now that you're wrong.
I wasn't happy
I wasn't myself
I wasn't your only one.

Even though I see you daily,
even though you want me back,
even though you want to interact,
I feel nothing.

For you robbed me of everything I had
and then some.

Why does sleep haunt me
Only when I want to pray,
**Then and ONLY then!?!