Dear Wesley
You look familiar
Like a boy I used to know
But he’s not here anymore.
You are a shredded kite
Searching for a reason to stay tethered to solid ground
You haven’t found one.
You appear out of place
The smell of cigarette smoke and the clink-clatter of chains
Dragging along behind you.
You are a captive, bound to the past
Trying to burrow and clutch tight to broken roots
While your family tree rots around you.
You have an old guitar in the back seat of your Honda
Just in case you want company
When you spend nights away from home.
You are the boy who kept every secret
Now you think you are the man
Who has learned all the answers.
You ask me if
I remember when we met
That is all you ever ask me anymore.