To Vee and Young

There are
Bits of people
that get into our eyes
Bits like a resilient heart
Like grit that holds onto faith
Like words unsaid that mean
There’s a fight somewhere inside
We find these bits
And make them into a story
A story that we’re grateful for.

This isn’t a thank-you poem
It’s a get-lost-dear-friend
And-come-back-again-everyday poem
For moments when being down meant
Not having a friend, and your fat head
peeped through ugly days to say
“There’s nothing that can bring you down”
It’s a poem about you being a thorn to a
withered rose and hanging on still
It’s a poem about hanging on still.

LARDO