A poem written on the six-month anniversary of Danny’s death. Digital collage from ages ago using a photo of a boy from Skateboarding Magazine.

Walking

I saw a hawk. Eye level. Flew like a shot across my path.

I’d just been thinking: some people cannot stay, they just cannot stay.

A few houses later, the elegant thing sailed overhead, wings outstretched, riding the thermal currents. Its under-feathers caught the morning light as if to say:

I, raptor, am sacred. You, human, are sacred. And that child who you lost? He too is sacred, still.

And this day? Holy. Holy. Holy.