authentic sadness.

the shock is thick
i clear my throat as
choking on the words seems
quite plausible:
he died.
the words that really,
should not be all
that surprising, as in:
it will happen to all of us.
sometime.
it's just that when it does,
and when the news is told to us,
the world closes in tight,
suffocating us
and for a moment everything stops
and it is only that person whom we
can think of, their final exit
and it's as if they, themselves might be gripping
you tightly around the shoulders,
supporting your weight, as you
see them off. they hold you,
in case the awe of it all, may be just too much.
it is the only sure thing we know of in this
world.
that we MUST leave it.
and we fall to pieces
just the same.
rip brandon.