Dear Payton,
Heard you got to your set date.
That date,
Today.

Three weeks ago,
You were in a coma.
But we held on.
We hoped.

You were the last one.
We were praying for you.
Counting on you.
But you fell fast asleep.
Got swept away.
And your life swept us away.

So now we are on our feet.
Listening to the Preacher preach.
Saying, “Heaven…”
Last month, we did this for Eric.
How is this heaven?

And, you were so young.
We are so young.
We’ve barely made it,
To year thirty
What is it -
About year thirty?
I’m so thirsty.
How is it finished?

They say you’ve paid your debt.
What about this debt?
You left your mom,
With a broken heart.
Now we’ll sing this song:
“Oh no,”
“He is gone.”

Last year it was Don.
They say God hit the gong.
Called him home.
What about his home?
What about mom?
You left her alone.
I know you always said,
“Don’t leave her alone.”

On the edge.
Regret.
They hit your car.
This bar,
Is so slow.
Thinking and drinking.
Drinking and thinking,
All this pain.
Again.

I know you did not choose this.
But I’ve got to chew on this.
We haven’t reached,
Our golden years.
You’ll never reach,
Your golden years.

In our younger years,
We thought we’d be older by now.
We always wanted to be young, forever.
And you were young,
So, you’ll be young forever.

Now that I’m older,
I know,
This is not forever.
It was finite.
We just got to nighttime.
You passed time.