I like to keep you with me
In the corner of my mind
A little voice inside my head
Telling me good things when bad things happen
Helping me make right out of things that go wrong

It’s been like this for a while
I’ve been empty like this for a while
At least when it comes to you
Because it’s hard to fill the void
Of someone who will never return

And you, I’m afraid, are gone
Not by choice either
By a disease that I will forever hate
Because it took you away from me

You could have taught me so many things
And maybe if you were here
I wouldn’t have doubted God for so long
Because he took you away from me too

When I wasn’t sure how to pray
I talked to you
I cried to you
And you could never console me
Because you’re gone now

I was fragmented, abandoned, alone
Until I found you again
I lost you; I left you
In hopes of forgetting and moving on
But you can’t move on from someone who changed your life

And so now, I like to keep a little piece of you with me
Not your picture on my dresser
Not your hat I keep in my closet
Not the bear I named after you
Who I finally outgrew clutching in my sleep every night
Crying, wondering when everything would be okay

Because it’s okay now
I’ve remembered you
And I keep a little piece of you with me now