A Eulogy to Jude

Be a good boy, remember; and be kind to animals and birds, and read all you can.

Well, the world isn't like the storybooks,
growing up is a slow-setting poison.
And in this dark kitchen the shelves never
Hold the room for what I need. Or want.

I keep the TV on because, like any child,
I'm scared of the dark. And silence. And loss.

I'm trying to be a good, little boy,
But the world demands I become a man.
Man who tries to carry pieces of home,
a blanket, a pillow, a wife, a love.

Loneliness is an aphrodisiac
That attracts only the lonely.

Here is my new home, I stand by the door.
I stake out my life, but darkly, obscure.