POEM - Bill

Passed out through the fringe of San Francisco

Up the hill to mom's lost brother

Temporarily stationary

Absent nearly my whole life

He rests long enough to be found

A sentinel of the tree encrusted hills

Makes sure civilization never comes home

It feels strange that he was never missed

He was never an element

Never a mention to suggest he should matter

Just an idea that currently lived at odds

With our idea of normal

He had not known normal

Three hits of acid from a friend dropped

Pushed through the other side of his mind one night

My mom stayed through the nightmare aware

Something had changed for Bill

She had opened her mind

As his exploded

And filled back in with demons

So Bill was excused from attending

Gone as he was

Finding his way back

From hidden highways

Didn't help that Nam caught him for a season

Didn't help that drugs caught him longer

The street didn't help

The music didn't help

A cold city after a cold city didn't help

The excused absence let the help come

As so often is, this is what was

In a cabin on the fringe of Frisco

A good woman a new child both so we knew

Much longer wouldn't pass till Bill is present

Not much longer

Maybe one more child maybe

One more step back

And back he stepped in to the family

A visit to grandma at some holiday

Or some summer

Found Bill

And Kathy

And Amber

 And Bridgette and

Six months later the call arrived

Bill took one more step, out

Eldest son returned got right

And fell one last time

Mid-shave

As he readied at home for a real job