Your Sun Will Never Speak
He lies in bed
and breathes
and has been doing so
for twenty-three years
unexpectedly
a loss before his surprise
a struggle before his uprise
from silent years and mother’s tears
“Your sun will never speak”
(I saw the words hang in the air
with “son” spelled “sun”
for some unknown reason…
perhaps a stroke
perhaps a joke
perhaps to provoke
but definitely a quote)
Then the list of all The Nevers came:
-He will never drive
-He will never get married
-He will never have children
-He will never…
And yet he’s here
EVER…
with me and my dreams
listening to his
achieving his…
waiting and watching for the sun
a dark house watching the break of blue-black
sky about to crack wide open
pure pink and possibilities
like his mind when he was three
and still hadn’t spoken
and doctors said he never would
but I demanded OH YES HE WOULD!
“Is it light out now?”
he asks me and the air, quietly, knowing
(He always knows)
and he always asks…
I consider the sweet gift:
of him
of sound
of silence
of “I love you so much”
and “I can never lose you”
as he waits and watches for the sun
and as I wait and watch for my sun
-A poem for my son Jared.
-Jerri Lynn Sparks
April 10th, 2021
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