LAUGHTER IN THE OTHER ROOM

The laughter in the other room

Is silent now.

I always wondered

What was going on

And now I’ll never know.

To my mother,

He was the little hellion

She looked after.

To me, and my sisters,

He was the crazy uncle

Who always made us laugh.

I don’t know

What my cousins’ kids,

His grandchildren,

Thought of him.

Some of them are still quite young.

Will there come a day

When they don’t remember him?

The last time I saw him

Was at a wedding in August.

He still looked pretty good then.

I haven’t seen him since,

In the hospital,

Or at home.

I can make excuses,

Say there was no one to drive me,

But the truth is,

I didn’t want to see him looking bad.

I want to remember him

As he was,

Wild and crazy,

Making people laugh

In the other room.

Dedicated to Thomas Mortell

January 24, 2002