She always said, “I love you”
And I believe she did,
She had the kind of honesty you only see in kids.
Perhaps a little simple,
More than just naïve,
But she was so devoted,
She was never mean,
Happy just to please,
She accepted what she lacked,
In a storm, she would give the shirt right off her back
and now we will remember
She’s gone a few hours,
We think about her family….and where to send the flowers?

Sure, that I was done,
I had given up all hope,
I heard the **** crow
And the fat girl cleared her throat,
That pain in my chest,
was not gonna stop,
I was checking out,
The kitchen was too hot,
At last I was alone,
All my friends were gone,
Closing my eyes,
I tried to sing along,
If only I had prayed,
Or maybe exercised,
I could be spared,
Instead….I am surprised,
If only I had listened to the things my father said,
If I was not careless,
or bumped my ******* head,
if I was more wise,
I would have used a net,
Instead I am a victim of the butterfly effect
©B L Costello 2018

Because…. She, is my mother,
Because…. She, gave me life,
I must make arrangements,
But she was never nice,
When I was young and helpless,
I felt her disgust,
When confidence is challenged,
You have no one to trust,
I wanted to trust her!
Sometimes, I would pretend,
But she could not believe what I said about her “Friend”,
And now, she is helpless……
Now, she cannot walk,
Aphasic since the stroke,
She never liked to talk,
She hated a "mess”,
Especially ones I made,
I learned how to clean,
Because…I was afraid,
She never liked to cook,
The staff helps her to eat,
Every time I visit,
They tell me, “she is sweet”,
I wish they knew her then,
I wish that they were right,
I wish she was my friend,
But she was never nice
©B L Costello 2018

Yeah, I’ll say it,
No, I am not scared,
It’s been here all day
Does anyone care?
Yes! I am sober,
I am not seeing pink,
We try to ignore it,
But frankly....it stinks,
Some ignore it,
Yes, I tried,
But something this big cannot be denied
Its bound to get messy,
Where is the broom,
Who let the elephant into the room?
©B L Costello 2018

My poor lost lamb,
Where did you go?
my Angry Young Man,
I did not know,
Words and letters do deceive,
But Sticks and Stones can not hurt me!
Too late, Too soon,
You did not live,
Long enough for me to forgive
I miss you now
Still I Cry,
Someone should have apologized,
Before that Summer Afternoon,
Found too late
You left too soon
(c) B L Costello 2018

Remember how you begged to play?
                      You practiced and worked so hard,
                      Remember how disappointed you were
                      When they laughed you out of the yard?
                      You thought there was something wrong with you,
                      You bravely asked what it was?,
                      As if you were a child,
                      Those cowards said....
It’s “because,”
      Because?
 Just…“because”,
      “That’s all!”
                      Did they think that would make you fall?
                      So cruel,
                      So quick,
                      It took no time,
                      Because,
                      No one ever asked them, “why”?
                      “Because”
                       They don’t even know the function!
                       “Because”,
A subordinating grammatical conjunction!
                        Without a sentence,
                        Without a reason,
                        You were supposed to stop and believe them,
                        Believe what fools can hardly say,
                        But you knew all along,
                        There was nothing the matter with you      
                       "Because",
                        They were completely wrong
                         © B L Costello 2018

Miles to go,
I do recall,
82 years,
That was all,
It happened in bed,
I hoped he was dreaming,
Dogs howling,
Sirens screaming,
He was alone,
I still feel appalled,
“He died in his sleep, after a fall”.
©B L Costello 2018