- write4hire
The Unthinkable

All of Us, Everyone, Showing Up for Rory
For Clay, Devin, Maddie, Connor, Charlee, Emma, Bella, Jack,
Cade, Maggie, Schuyler, Eleanor, Hattie, Bridger, Delilah, Dock
I wish I could tell each of you today
that I am a brave man, that I have not lived
my life warding off grief, breathlessly listening
for breath sounds behind the doors
of seven then sixteen nurseries, making deals
with a God I don’t believe makes deals
for the asking, a supplicant everywhere
I’ve gone, begging protection against
the infinite pyre, smoke, ashes, embers
flying into my eyes in the wordless seconds
following the most terrible phone call
anyone on earth can receive,
a whistle, the shriek of wheels
coming into the station, telling me
the hour to be frightened is now past,
time to board the train, join the grieving,
the brave living, all of us, all of us, all
of us, holding hands, across the aisle,
over the back of seats, every day,
every day, every day a day to be
on the train, together, together, always
together, the train rattling ahead
into the everything coming our way,
the way our sweet boy would race
across the sand, big smile on his face,
diving fearlessly into the breaking surf
—Chief, 5 November 2023
