Wondering

 

For Billy, Who Died Too Young

 

I am surprised at how often

I have thought about you

over all these decades.

Your tragic end still lingers.

 

I wonder what has happened

to the infant son and young wife.

you left behind. I wonder why

you become so erratic as a teen.

 

Was it because of your relationship

with your father and mother?

Or the low self-esteem you suffered

because of facial acne?

 

Like you, your cousin, Joe,

died unexpectedly a few years ago,

but he led a relatively full life,

one you were never afforded.

 

I wonder about your afterlife

and ask myself “Are you at peace?”

When my life comes to its end

will we three reconnect?

 

Our lives are separate stories

containing suspenseful moments,

with their own unique endings

some tragic, some unforeseen, some abrupt—

 

some unforgettable.