he told the boy
that he loved him

and the boy smiled
and sadly shook his head
and with an
"i'm sorry"
the boy wiped his
hopes away

but he persisted
and followed the boy
in most everything he did

he burnt rosemary
as an offering
and decorated the candles
with candied ginger
and cloves

it wasn't until
they found him
alone on his couch
asleep
forever

that anyone knew
what had happened
or that anything seemed amiss

he loved the boy
too hard

and when the boy
didn't love him back

he was too
disappointed
to cry

so he became
a bottle of coke
and the more he was shaken
the faster he went