was a word that tripped
from his tongue like
/indubitably/ so sure
to frame what flamed
in his deep green eyes
his six foot height a
tower of strength, spirit

He rode the red bicycle
dished out sundaes malts
pedaled home again
pushed the blue mower
through bluer grass
lawn after lawn just
to collect three dollars
but only on the biggest
and maybe if he stopped
to trim the spreaders
after sweeping all the trimmings

His picture sits the mantel
the one from his sophomore year
of college suit and tie hair combed
so the family wave arched above
his dark brows and those eyes
again watching as I maneuver
through life these many years
since the cancer snatched him
not even two years later

His spirit so great it still permeates
my life even though I keep the tiny
filigree heart he gave me for my
sixteenth birthday when there wouldn’t
be anything else, telling me how his
girlfriend would soon be like my sister
and me standing on the front porch
whispering with him, believing
and how I still do in his spirit

Indomitable