I know you better in death
I do
than ever I knew you in life
I didn't
watching your fretful freefall into
rose-petaled fantasy
I did
as from afar you watched me too,
gazing through a sickening
pink-cloudy haze that
enveloped you,
consumed you,
and ultimately spit you out
It did.
I place your picture on the ofrenda,
surprised by tenderness I so rarely
felt for you in life
I didn't.
Your glorious baby-self smiles
across the years,
all golden-curled, innocent and
cherished,
so cherished,
surrounded by those who loved you
into being
They did.
I light the candle and set aside
the searing memory of your
struggle to stay when you
were never really here
You weren't
to wonder
WHY