We were adolescent friends
Armed with pubescent bravado
Always joking—always smiling
The girls always liked you
So I thought you must have been happy
Years later on the platform I saw you
Beautiful body teeming in prep school apparel
You held my gaze a little too long
But I thought nothing of it at the time
Freshman year of college, I get the word
You are dead—by your own hand
Wrists slit—but not enough
So a rope found your kneck
The ladies came to the funeral
And word was, there were secrets you couldn’t own
It was devastating—losing our golden boy
I only wish I had known—and could have reached out
It is hard to find meaning in suicide
But on this, I drew firm
Those choices should have been yours—with pride
–BYPO c)2010
visual art by Scott LeFavor
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