-Dedicated to my hero, Lauren Todd Jr.-

How could this have happened to you?
You were stronger than all of us.
Always I thought that you'd get
better, that you'd heal. Eleven
years later and I still can't
believe this is real. Ever since
you passed I lost my ability to
feel.

You were my salvation from a
never ending fright. I remember
what I was doing that night. The
night you woke for one last time.
You gave everyone a hug, and I even
got mine. Yet I thought you'd be fine.
Upstairs I went to play my games.
I was just an innocent child. I
promise I didn't know. I would
have stayed by your side forever.
How I loved you so.

They say those who sleep are
waiting for one last milestone.
You made it grandpa. You lived
to see one more of my birthdays.
In many ways I died with you then.
That day I lost my very best friend.

Tears well and fall abundantly as
I write this. At your funeral I
still wanted one last kiss, but from
then on it'd be something I'd always
miss. Time with you was peaceful
bliss.

I love you grandpa.
Your grandson,
Jess