Ever Wonderful

Theron, when I think of you,
I will think of the star ring
that you bought at The Alley
on Christmas Day four years ago,
of Earth, Wind & Fire,
which you played when Aisha was born.
I will think of peppermint tea
with five packets of raw sugar
and a straw,
of being with you in the ER,
of the time you told me you were starting
to see a face in the picture hanging
outside your hospital room door,
and my seeing it too,
the way the wrinkles in a soldier’s pant leg
made the outline of two eyes, a nose, a mouth.

I will think of the first time I met you
and the last time I saw you,
of the sadness I felt
when I learned that you were gone.
I will remember walking your path with you.
And I will remember you
walking my path with me.