I remember the last time I cried
It was a beautiful day
The sun was bright and spirits were high
We all broke from our academic setting
The next task was to make our way to a few hours north on our own
Before we broke I received an ominous text
Context clues were enough to make my thoughts race
I saw his name on my phone
A good kid
With a big heart
I knew there was no way the news was good
In the passage way I saw the articles
The obituary
The call to end taking one’s life
I sat in my rental car
In the parking lot
Outside a classroom
On base
My classmates getting quite the advantage on miles ahead
Yet I sat there alone in this lot
Physically and mentally alone
The only part of me zooming was my mind
I can’t define if it was my anger or sorrow that weighed heavier
As the tears disappeared into my woodlands
He used to ask for guidance
Between his outlandish comments
Wanting to trade his flat black for shiny
Should he stay in or out
What should the next step be?
I had to leave before his RIP/TOA
Never got to say goodbye
Never got to say I hope to see you next time
Never got to say one last time to stop being a smartass
If he could read these words
I hope he knows I poured a few out for him that night and the next
The smiles I had for those around me were for him
In memory of the good times
I’m hoping for a broken heart or a shitty hand to be dealt,
So that I can cry again
What’s happening at VetRep…
Listen to our latest episode with Lois Hicks-Wozniak on the Savage Wonder Podcast, where we interview incredibly talented musicians, artists, writers, and theater professionals, who also happen to be veterans.
Join us every Saturday through June for Gnit, by Will Eno, a cautionary tale about, among other things, how the opposite of love is laziness. Gnit is a faithful, unfaithful, and willfully American reading of Henrik Ibsen’s Peer Gynt, a 19th century Norwegian play famous for all the wrong reasons. Settle in with a delicious mocktail and dessert, and be sure to get your tickets early or they might just sell out.