coloring book.

he was the boy who loved to play.
with his brothers as his best friends,
he was always accompanied. and his father taught them
everything he knew. he was their hero.

in the family,
he was the smile on everyone’s face.

but it all became too much;
with sports and tests
and rules and friends…
have you ever watched the color
drain out of someone?
he had started losing signs of life.

would someone save him,
or was he left to his own?
____

Monday morning
the article read,
“young boy [nearly] drowned
in father’s shadow.”
____

for a while, someone drew the lines for him
but now
“with a notebook and a crayon”
he scribbles down
his own pictures for others
to see where he’s gone.

11.3.06
rcb