28 Years 💔

Written By Christina Down-Robinson

In memory of my brother Scott Down

2/4/74 - 6/1/93

My heart,
it is a deep abyss
again, it opens wide.

Another year,
another scream,
reverberates inside.

The fall continues,
the dark enfolds,
the tears still streak my cheeks.

And still I wait,
for time to free me
from this ache and pain so deep.

Your picture,
frozen, by my side
I still listen for your voice...

It’s all that I can do,
since this nightmare
stole my choice.

Again,
I raise my eyes,
and the hole seems wider yet...

So,
I add one more stitch,
upon the rip,
where the jagged edge still bleeds.

Nothing,
no bandage fix,
fills, or covers,
all the damage that I heed.

For now,
the rain still falls,
I turn inward
and address the pain inside.

Today,
my heart will honor you,
until tomorrow’s sun
again, will rise.

Christina Down-Robinson

Julie A. Cox received her MFA in creative writing from the University of Minnesota, where she was awarded the Edelstein-Keller Fellowship in poetry. A finalist for the Loft Mentorship series and the Writers at Work Competition, she has poems published or forthcoming in American Literary Review, Cream City Review, Hanging Loose, Salamander, Water~Stone, and elsewhere. Julie and her family experienced the loss of her youngest brother to suicide by self-inflicted gunshot. Julie advocates the strict regulation of firearms across the culture.

https://www.facebook.com/julie.cox.77582
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