The Call
The call was all too memorable
A hot summer day filled with laughter and love
Suddenly turned
Nothing was funny
Almost as if it turned to a brutal winter day
The call
The call you never want to get from a loving friend
Surgery was already underway to remove a tumor
Too young to even have to be thinking about this
The call
The call that changed everything
Fighting
Fighting is being sixteen years old in a hospital bed
Feeling the life be sucked out of you because the chemo is taking over
Frail but beautiful
Depressed but still ambitious
Dying but fighting to live
Turning to God because you can feel your life slipping from underneath you
Fighting because everyone that loves you walks in with the same glassy eyes
All screaming “fight for your life” although they are not saying a word
I
I spent a year and a half watching
Watching as his body shrink
As he began to look at little less like himself everyday
Listening to him laugh, cry, and pray
I laid in the hospital bed holding his hand
I pushed him when he felt beaten
I gained a second family, his
I found myself knelt at my bedside every night
Begging the Lord to let him live his life just a little
The most deserving boy in the world
I watched take on cancer
I would have traded him places
See You Later
The chemotherapy ended
The smiles brightened
Senior year and prom became the topic of discussion
Together, we were going to take on all of it
Together
The end of junior year came to a close
Summer approaching
Walking into class
Stares piercing through me
Feeling my heart in my stomach
All of the sudden the car was weaving in and out
Speed to 110
Hazard lights flashing
Almost as if I had been placed in a drag racing video game
How do you prepare yourself for this when all of the smiles were so hopeful?
The elevator to the third floor felt like it moved in slow motion
While my head felt like a tilt-a-whirl
Embracing the hands on both side of me
I remember walking into the room
“We waited until you got here to take him off the ventilator for you to say goodbye.”
Voices echoing
Bells ringing in my ears
Sitting in front of me was my better half
The better part of me
Taught me to love hard and care for others
Tears heating my face
Drowning in my thoughts
Was this even real?
I held his and whispered
This is not our goodbye James, you are a fighter and I will see you later.
Time After
Days crept by
Slowly getting faster
The smallest things began to remind me of you
A song, a smell, or even a laugh
Time has made it easier
Feeling love through both families gave closure
The closure felt warm
Making me spread your love throughout everyone
Helping them feel your presence through me
Giving others a small reminder as to who you were
Spreading your story with people who are willing to listen
More often than not
The love for you will never die
For it will only grow on
