Feeling the Loss of Him

by Raymond Foss

Standing, walking, coming through the line
greeting you, for a moment, sharing
but a snapshot, a burst, of what I was feeling,
so small compared to the enormity
the reality of your loss.
Feeling so small, standing in the line,
before I approached you.
Thinking of what his loss
means to me, to so many,
as written in the paper
Murmured in the court, on the phone
with out practitioners.
Reading so many stories,
so many telling words,
the lives he touched, changed
for the better, truly.
Of his help to me,
guidance and rebuttal,
chastised and cajoled
Feeling the loss of him
so acutely, still.

My friend, Mike Brown, who died of testicular cancer at the age of twenty, would have been forty years old today. He was a student at James Madison University, a basketball player, incredibly smart, friendly and outgoing.

He was hilariously funny and he loved to make people laugh.

He was a protective loving big brother.

He was a respectful son, a kind and gentle soul.

He fought his cancer courageously until his last breath.

He left this world too quickly.

I feel the loss of him still.