If it had been five years from now
I never would have found out.

If it had been one year from now
I might have heard it in passing;
shaken my head, maybe let out a sigh of Regret.

If it had been six months from now
I would have been a bit down for a few days.

If it had been three months from now
I would have been upset;
cried a little.

But it was yesterday.
And you were going to graduate tomorrow.
Just two days until our acquaintanceship ended.
Just two days until you would be a college grad.
Just two days until one of the best artists I've met could make the world see.
...
But now you can't.

And the image of you is still fresh in my mind:
shoulder-length hair with a bandana
homemade bellbottoms with Winnie The Pooh inserts
ever ready rolls of masking tape you wore like bracelets.
(How many times did I need to use them? I never had my own.)

Just spending a hot day at the falls
like every other person to ever attend Plymouth State.
But you're not.
And images keep going through my head.
It doesn't make sense.

You were Real.
You were a Staple.
You had so far to go.

All of my memories of you are fond,
not just because the shock is fresh,
but because that's who you were…
Positive
Down to Earth.

You'll be Missed.

05/21/2004