the other day, suddenly. He was
younger than me – in his early
fifties. He just posted a picture of
himself in a Pat’s t-shirt pre-game,

cooking dinner. I haven’t seen him
in decades. And now I’ll finally see him
face to face at his wake. He’ll be lying
down instead of slapping me a high-

five. He’ll be quiet now, instead of
telling me ***** jokes or playing his drums that
shake the house. There’ll be no raunchy gifts
in my messenger, nothing to make me laugh

at early in the morning before my
bath. I never called him, though he wanted
to talk. I never reached out much to him. He was
a friend who was always there, except now

he isn’t. I didn’t  stay late enough at
the New Year’s Eve party several years ago
until he came home from work to see him. I was
very tired from drinking. So now I will finally see

him at last, laid out in his casket –
preserving a chuckle just for me, because
I have to go on in this crazy world. But he
is free.

Rest in peace John