Poem for Andrew Koenig

I can’t pretend I knew you,
when the truth is I didn’t know you existed
until you died.
I knew your father
as a face on the big screen
and TV.
But you were just some b-list actor
The kind whose name no one knows
until you mention his roles
“oh that guy�"“

And that’s the problem isn’t it?
No one knew you.

Last week police found your body
hanging from a tree
in Stanley State Park, Vancouver.

Details (like the hanging)
came later.

I pictured it differently�"
you face- down
among dead leaves
the same brown as your hair.

In the picture with the article
it’s long and wavy,
the kind of hair women envy.

You’re smiling
but your eyes are dark and sad.

How could we have saved you?
If I had known you
I would have said,
Sit down. Tell me everything.
Maybe someone did.

What could we have done
before you chose to delve in
to that wood so deep
it took them days to find you?
I can hear the leaves
crunching beneath your feet
and smell them mingled with the scent
of cold earth
as you march
further into the forest.

Wait for me--
I know we're total strangers,
but tell me
how can I help?