a void tucked beneath hollow bones,
your screams cannot be heard in space.
remember learning to ride a bike, remember the lorry so
high you had to be lifted in, remember the beanie-clad,
tongue poking out, arms folded over broad chest,
remember the violence, the threats, the complete
unattached glare, the silent mornings, the expressionless
skin, the pain, the crying, the untouched food, the want of
Guinness, the needles, the cold hard skin under my lips.

remember how small you looked in that box we had to
order again because of your **** long legs, the extra foot
of earth removed, how squashed you seemed yet how
peaceful compared to the agonies the previous months,
my cardigan nestled at your feet, the cherished items of
others tucked in with you, your cardigan i cant bring
myself to wear anymore, the almost smile playing on your
cold lips, sunken eyes, remember you’re not alive

remember the sobbing in a dismal church alive with jimi
hendrix, remember the family shrouded in black, remember
the gripped hands clutching at the desperate hope this was
some nightmare conjured up in the cruel unconscious of
one of us, remember the closeness of the funeral car as we
all shoved in together, remember the bent heads and the
pity pouring out of every poor soul in attendance,
remember the fierce love that connected us that has
dispersed over the last couple of years

remember how this family shattered when you left.