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Poem
Today I learned, once more, the lesson of loss.
Today I learned of a brother gone.
Tonight I pay my respects, in what words I can muster;
forever he is one of us.

I didn’t know him for all too long,
and never got all that close, 
when it really comes down to it;
yet he was family to me.

He was a religious man, and one
that always had a huge grin on his face.
Without fail, he tried to make the rest of us
get along when arguments arose among friends.

He was the first one at my side
when my mother's mother passed away.

He volunteered as a firefighter, before all of this –
he had the strength to offer himself up
both to fight fire when he could,
and get in firefights if he had to.

I remember one day, late last year,
when he came to us and he wished
to lead us in saluting the half-masted flag
on the eleventh of September.

These were his words, on that day:

“In honor and remembrance of all the victims of the 9/11 attacks.
Class BCE 31-13 stood in formation saluting the American flag
in remembrance of everyone who … was associated
with what happened 12 years ago.
May we never forget what went on today
and that we will keep our country safe.
Honoring those who’ve passed before us.
We will stand our ground,
fight for our country
and fight to sustain our freedom.
For our friends, family, and strangers.
Oorah and Semper Fidelis to all.”

To follow something like that, all I can say is this:
almost nobody sees themselves as heroes,
and we never think we’ll get to meet
those who truly are.

We rarely see them as heroes either,
while we still could say our thanks;
it isn’t until they’re beyond our reach
that we realize exactly who has been taken away.

I count myself lucky to have known him.
For what they're going through,
I want to send my best to his first family;
and I'm glad I could be a part of his second.

I don't have his faith, and could not say for sure
if he'll ever read these words;
but I hope he knows exactly how much
a hero will be missed.
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