Work Text:
Fragile.
I was but a newly hatched sparrow
when I heard I must suck the marrow
out of life,
and what did it achieve?
Carry us too far until
one took eternal leave?
Disregard the fear that keeps
us here, or let us spread our wings
and cheer?
Nay, for no freedom tastes so sweet,
none is worth the life
of my dear friend and the strife
that’s struck my world.
Nay, I am but barely whole,
like a loose cardboard puzzle on a wavering surface,
I am but a wailing broken soul:
One wrong move
And I fall apart
Neil,
It's been six months since you've gone, and I think of you every waking moment of every single day. I don't think it possible for me to ever forget you. Frankly, I doubt it's possible for anyone to forget someone like you, so full of passion, conviction and joy. Everyone thinks it was Mr. Keating who changed me, who made me confident in my voice and comfortable in my skin. No one knows that it was truly you all along. Perhaps they should know, but I feel that if I told them that I'd be telling a secret that only we know. I'll think of you every day, grateful for you, until one day I join you, be in heaven or hell, for heaven is truly hell if you are not there. I've found that rather than calling on God for guidance, I've been calling on you. Perhaps that's unhealthy, or sinful, but either way I find I do not care. May you rest peacefully, and feel as though you're playing Puck and it's finally curtain call, the audience cheering your name. I will think of you always and fondly.
Your Friend,
Todd Anderson