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Ben Burton | + Follow Poet |
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2nd Half of Billy's Ride

He had vowed to pay a visit
 When he said good-bye to eight
 On this date of June the second
 Perfect time to celebrate
 
 Picked wild flowers in the thicket
 Made a circular bouquet
 Placed them down across the headstone
 Of the boy who bore his name

 As he stood there he felt joyful
 Certain Billy was with God
 For no youngster suffered satan
 When his flesh returned to sod
 
 Then, he thought about his grandpa
 Who had died at sixty-eight
 He recalled him as a good man
 But he wondered, "Was Gramps saved?"

 Billy started feeling lonely
 Thought, "It makes no sense to me
 Why a young child gets free passage
 Into God's eternity

 "If I grow up feeling faithless
 Must I pay forevermore
 That's a risk that's not worth taking
 Maybe I should close the door"

 He climbed back aboard his three-speed
 Pedaled out onto Route Five
 Saw a semi coming toward him
 One quick turn could end his life

 He felt sorry for his parents
 All the grief his death would cause
 Then he thought about forever
 They were saved, he might get lost
 
 When the truck had almost reached him
 He veered sharply in its path
 And he closed his eyes and waited
 For the bloody aftermath

 But he never heard a crash
 Instead...

 He was sitting in Demato's
 With a Nehi on a tray
 But they wouldn't take his money
 For his drink, or birthday cake

 So for little Billy Edwards
 A new chapter had begun
 No more sweating out his future
 Childhood was a time for fun

 He believed all of his loved ones
 Would re-gather one fine day
 In a place none could imagine
 Well beyond the Milky Way

 Where he'd meet the other Billy
 Learn the answers one-by-one
 Why his was the only gravesite
 And why he had died so young

 And as Bill grew slowly older
 He convinced a goodly lot
 That we didn't merely happen
 But Somebody called the shot

Copyright © Ben Burton | Year Posted 2014

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