A boy frolics in a field of forget-me-nots
to the song in his heart.
Spinning, spinning, spinning…
until he falls in love with the music.
Rolling down hills to rolling up joints
and picking up a guitar.
The music crescendos…
His life has just begun.
The guitar is played daily.
Sitting on the front stoop,
amplifier plugged in—
a concert for the block.
Time continues to tick.
Life is getting hard.
The guitar is forsaken
just when he needs it most.
Making music no longer,
he turns to substance.
Spinning, spinning, spinning
out of control.
He needs the pain
to go away.
Needles at night
and sleep by day.
The man is tired
and lonely
as the endless darkness
inside him.
When the veil between worlds is thinnest
the man slips away
and finally
he finds his peace.
My brother overdosed on Day of the Dead.