The cars passing

outside the bedroom window

sound like

waves

lapping

hungrily at the

shore

and they are

ceaseless for this late an

hour

and for the

first time in

years

I find the

wall at the

other side of the

bed.

And so I

unbuckled my

belt and let the pants

drop to my ankles,

the

buckle

softly finding my

foot with a quiet thud
--

a deliberate gesture of

silence for the

boys downstairs.

I climbed into the

empty bed,

and tried to

remember to

enjoy its

newly discovered

size.

He
hung
himself
from a
basketball
hoop
in
the
park next to
the lake.

The soft
breezes
pushed him
to
and
fro
and his
toes
pointed
all the way
down.