The Constellations

I can’t see the stars anymore without seeing your face

You showed me all the constellations

I’ve forgotten them by now

But I remember it was you who showed me

They used to be magical

All sorts of shapes and figures dancing in the sky

But now they’re just clusters of dots

Millions and millions of dots that no longer have names

I ate so many frozen grapes with you

I can’t even stand to see them anymore

And I got so tired of feeding the deer in your backyard

Because we fed them every day

And I always wondered why they’d come so close

I got scared sometimes

But you loved those deer

And eventually I loved those deer too

We’d name them together

But forget who was who and name them again the very next day

You’d make us do ridiculous chores

Sometimes it was dangerous

But you trusted us to climb on the roof

And fix the radar

From ten years ago

You’d yell in that ridiculous Cajun accent

And we could barely take you seriously

Because you couldn’t stop laughing

I didn’t even know you were sick

It was months before anyone told me

And you never let it show

You still fed the deer

You still made frozen grapes

And you still named the constellations

I found out about the poison

The disease destroying your body

So many hospitals

So much pain

Eventually, you couldn’t feed the deer anymore

You couldn’t even get up

One visitor at a time, please

He needs his rest

Such a humble man

The world never knew his name

He liked it that way

The good man from north florida

Who was the same on Sunday morning

As he was every other day of the week

He’s holding the door for us

He told me so

And I believe it.

If any man is in heaven

It’s him

He always loved the constellations

And now he’s with them

His paradise in the stars.