Ben -- a gentleman:

As a child, a youth, a young adult
He wore the cloak of kindness and courtesy
His mind ever eager to learn, to discuss
And his spirit gently present.
His character and integrity a welcome companion to our daughter, Leah.
His brother Dylan's also resonant to our son, Nathan
Ben would take time to talk with me, their mom.
He was always welcome in our home.
In spite of our grief and loss, he will be
Remembered with gratitude and joy
For his many gifts of life.

____________________

Ben

That he is gone…
How can the mind
Encompass that as fact?
It must rebel and run in rage and
Desperation head on
Into the bitter winds of fate.
Run and run again,
Again, 'til it exhausted falls.

How can this be?
That he who graced our lives,
This earth,
Should simply
Stop,
Cannot be grasped.

Gray, towering waves assail
The headland of my grief.
Salt spray runs down its craggy face
In hissing rivulets.

In time I know each storm subsides,
And faith cries out, "So will someday even this."
But this one leaves within its wake
A quantity of brokenness not soon healed.
If weight of sadness be a measure,
This young man too few years
Has touched more lives more deeply
Than most have been privileged to know.

With difficulty, now, I try to let him go
And with him, too,
Dreams of a former day.
In some bright future of some other life
He might have been a welcome son of mine,
Wed to the daughter of my joy.
The currents of our lives flow
To a different destination, though,
And one with blessings of its own.
But blessed I'll forever feel
But one as fine as Ben walked
Side by side with her
For even just a while.

____________________