Unexpected changes
I hear your laughter coming from the bedroom,
As our older brother tickles you awake,
You come out clad in blue jeans,
A wide smile on your face.
You're smile turns to a frown,
As you run your toe into the wall,
You howl in pain,
I laugh at your expression,
Your frown slowly turns upside down,
And the world cheers at your happiness.
Sitting down at the table,
You gulp down your breakfast,
School starts today,
You'll be a freshman,
New to the high school.
Your nervousness appears,
Right after you finish eating,
You won't admit to being nervous,
You never show fear,
Even for a little kid.
You leave for school,
Walking ever so slowly,
Wishing you could stay at home.
3:00 schools out,
You survived and managed
To get invited to a party,
I get a funny feeling,
Like maybe you shouldn't go,
I shrug it off thinking,
You'll be just fine.
Friday rolls around,
You leave for school,
Come home and get ready to leave again,
Something makes me want
To take you in my arms,
And never let you go,
Instead I watch you leave,
Not knowing how irrevocable the night will be.
Time crawls like a turtle,
As I wait for you to come home,
The clock strikes 2,
It's past your curfew,
Where are you?
I pace the floors,
Worry growing like a cancerous tumor,
Wishing you had stayed at home,
Knowing you needed to make friends.
I wait till 3,
Before waking Darry,
I tell him you never came home,
Never even called.
Darry jumps up,
Grabs his clothes,
Pulling them on,
He grabs his keys.
Leaving the house,
Roaring out of the driveway,
Heading to where you should have been,
Pulling in,
Seeing flashing lights,
Police,
Ambulance,
Fear spreading like a fire,
Sensing change about to take place,
Getting out from the truck,
Grabbing the nearest person,
What's going on?
Someone got drunk,
Pulled a gun,
Tried to shoot,
His girlfriend for,
Kissing another guy,
A young man,
Steps in the way,
Takes a bullet through the heart,
Dead before he hit the ground.
Your life flashes before my eyes,
As I realized,
You were the young man,
That tried to stop,
An act of violence.
Your life no longer,
More than dirt in the wind,
I long for the time,
Before school started,
Before you were invited to the party,
Where your life unexpectedly ended,
Wishing I had told you not to go,
You had plenty of friends.
Wishing I could have told you,
Without words,
How I really felt,
Not knowing,
You would no longer,
Be coming home to your family.
I cry at night,
Longing for your presence,
Knowing I won't see,
Your smiling face,
Again until the day I die.