when the headstone is in place

once

the headstone is in place,

carved

in the white

stone,

his name and birth,

the date

of his death.

all neatly

engraved with

military precision,

i'll go back there and say

hello.

i might sit

for a while, like we used

to do

and talk about

books, the weather,

the other brothers

and sisters.

i'll listen to his laugh,

and see

the wet twinkle in his

ocean blue

eyes.

and then i'll go home

again,

but now it's a shorter drive.