Friday, May 26, 2023

Printed in Letters Cody


Cody

You didn't think

When you punched that hot pedal and

Laughed with abandon

High on life (maybe more).


(Driving stupid, you said)


We didn't know 

As we hugged them goodbye, and 

Helped them into their auto

What that night held in store.


You walked from the chaos

Stood there next to your lawyer, and 

Your crumpled up sports car

In a different place 


While NONE OF OURS WALKED!

And your minimum coverage 

Won't come anywhere near

The new world that we face


(What do I want from you? Suffering?  I don't know. Yes.)


You pee every day

All alone if you choose to

Just skip off to live 

Like you weren't a thief


You bypassed the surgeons, the

New diet and lifestyle

The desperate longing

The shattering grief


And no young man has asked you

Why there's blood in your diaper

Or left you alone, helpless

Choking on bile


(What would fix things? There's no answer. Nothing will.)


I don't want your suffering, for 

I also need Mercy

No sentence will change things

Or make this worthwhile 


(Then, what?  What's even the point of a trial, or a stupid poem?)


But next time you shower

And don't need your buddy

Or eat without thinking about it at all

Or brush past your Mom 



       (You killed Nadine. Oh, my heart.)




Perhaps you'll acknowledge 

The gifts you've been given

The treasures, the blessings 

And Where they come from.


(Gratitude. Amazing Grace. It saved me.

 Here it is.  Here's my Answer.)


And then it won't matter

If you're stuck in some prison

Or slogging along in

A job you despise 


Seek meaning, find healing

Great joy, living purpose

And freedom to look yourself

Straight in the eye.


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