For Liam

I remember when I was told. Family in silence. It’s not fair. The heartbeat of appliances still whining, I focus on times I thought we’d grow old... Clouds part with unexplained violence And our faces begin to pour. A hundred questions, a doubt And what else? Footprint in a concrete driveway, A spark-maker unlit watching seagulls soar From the soft earth, noise drowned out. A boy sleeps waiting to wake To manhood. Creased cheeks quiver, And what he gets instead are flowers. Relics in person, I question the ache That asks why we give rivers And must move on, while they remain. Held by the smooth arms of trees, Swallowed by a blanket of grass. I ask the plaque what I cannot my brain, Logic replaced by glassy guarantees I see right through. He will not rise. Facing away from a marching sun, A no longer marching son lies.