Noah's Dark Poem by Linda Marie Van Tassell

I tried to write this poem a thousand times
but struggled as words fell in between the lines.
A ghostly wind blows through lamenting chimes.
I close my eyes, remembering your sweet face.

You were always kind and respectful to all,
a gentle giant whose frame was broad and tall.
If I could paint your spirit upon the wall,
it would glimmer with an everlasting grace.

How you must have suffered and silently wept.
I can only imagine the secrets kept
or the demons you encountered as you slept,
stuffing your dreams into a starched pillowcase.

How empty of you to be so full of pain,
to fill your cup till it overflowed with rain,
to fire a single bullet into your brain
cleaving the comfort of a once happy place.

Everyone loved you everywhere that you went.
Your smile never indicated discontent.
How could anyone have known your grave intent?
We would have carried you if that were the case.

The stairway to heaven is littered with scars,
but even the night hangs the moon and the stars.
What field is not stained by the lifeblood of wars?
You mattered, and I'm sorry you quit the race.

You were never a burden nor a mistake,
and you left such devastation in your wake.
The hopelessness abounds; the barriers break.
The questions tremble beneath a veil of lace.

Flashbacks and memories infiltrate my soul.
You fought to be your own man and gain control;
but stumbling blocks barred you and your wishes stole.
If your life was a card game, you played the ace.

Your essence will fade into tear-softened night.
Seasons will change, but it will never seem right.
Cedar Gate rises within the morning light.
You sleep in the garden and its lush embrace.