I remember what you were like in high school.
You hung around with the "cool" crowd,
but still made time for me.
I'll never forget your dry humor,
and the weird things you'd say.
We'd talk about music,
and vent about our toxic relationships.
We came from two different worlds,
but we had similar mindsets.
Two angst filled teens,
just trying to find their way through life.


Then we graduated.
We thought we were going our separate ways,
But we ended up in the same direction.
I remember smiles in parking lots,
your horn beeping to scare me as you laughed,
And saying hello,
Just to remind each other that we weren't alone.


Then life hit.
You became a father.
I got married.
Our lives were now nowhere near the other.
We lived in the same town,
but never saw each other's face.
And when we did,
we never spoke.
We'd just smile and look the other way.

Last night I found out the direction you chose to take.
They said you took a gun to your favorite spot,
and said goodbye to the life you once loved.
You left your son behind,
and all of us who are asking why.
I stayed up almost all night crying,
just wishing it was all a bad dream.
What I would do to get you back...
to talk about music with you one last time.

But I can't get you back...
I can't ask you why.
I can't make it better.
You said you'd never felt so peaceful...
but you left us all in pieces.

All I can do is wonder,
and look at the signature you left,
on a slip of paper in my favorite book...
when you were a different kid.