Fred's Funeral

Surreal.
Even looking at the words I just typed is surreal.
Fred's funeral
What?!

Just yesterday, we were climbing trees
Scaling walls, dodging bees.
It was yesterday
You taught us a new game
And we laughed and we played
Then we argued, we fought
We forgave and forgot
Yesterday
It was just yesterday

I remember you, lanky boy
Full of teasing, full of joy
In my childhood, a fixture
Of memories and wishes, a mixture
My friend, my brother
Worldly-wise, an anchor
Fun didn't begin till you arrived
So much light you brought into our lives

I can't remember a time
Before you were in my life
And now I regret so much
Letting time take us out of touch.
If I could go back just once more
To moments past, times of yore
I'd linger longer, find a way
To make it so you'd be here today.

But alas, life has lived itself out
You've finished your act and taken your bow
I should be grateful, at the least
To have been privileged a seat
To have watched you grow
And even more so
To have had the chance to reacquaint
Before you exited the stage.

You are inextricably entwined
In my heart and mind
For the ways that you graced
My childhood days.
And in the last month or two
We connected anew
You uplifted and blessed
In a way that transcended
The eighteen lost years
As if they never were.

Fred, my brother, long-lost friend
I hate that we must once more disconnect
But I'll see you again
And no doubt then,
We'll catch up as if you never left.

Rest in peace, dear one

December 17, 2019.