Outliving The Young

By Roger Wallock

copyright 2008

Youthful days are for dates and fun
hanging with friends, enjoying the sun
dreaming of the future with excited eyes,
cruising in cars under darkened skies.
But Fate intervenes and the horror begins
Seeing
Injustice while a father chooses a casket
for the one he taught to ride a bike.
Parents are meant to watch their kids live
not to bury them in softened earth.

Sobs heave from a mother’s chest
looking into her boy’s lightless eyes
she hopelessly searches for a reason why
she must outlive her young.
A merciless God is blamed and
despair seeps into each day
without him there.
Dressing him for a funeral, she recalls
dressing him for the first day of school.
Dad stares back blankly when asked a question;
his mind lost amid regrets.
He thought he had time for that father-son chat,
or for that game of catch.
Now instead of a ball, he tosses his son