The end of our trip my husband <br />tells me how my son’s classmate <br />was found hanging from a tree <br />in the park two blocks from my house. <br /> <br />I asked when, he said <br />“two days ago.” <br /> <br />I asked who, he said <br />“I don’t know yet.” <br /> <br />Silently I make the decision <br />to call my son, <br />tell him I love him, <br />and only God knows how much <br />I want to hold him. <br />I’ll never understand <br />how someone could find <br />life that hopeless. <br /> <br />I think about my own sister <br />and how much she’s missed. <br /> <br />He was twenty years old, <br />my God he hadn’t even <br />started his life yet. <br /> <br />Being a grief counselor <br />I know all the statistics, <br />he was probably drunk. <br />If he had a moment of clarity <br />he probably wouldn’t have done it. <br /> <br />Who am I to say his life <br />shouldn’t have ended, <br />my gut hurts because I know the pain <br />he’s left behind. <br /> <br />No family should ever know <br />that kind of pain.<br /><br />Joyce Chelmo<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/pain-no-family-should-know/
