Overdose

No, he did not look natural in his coffin.
He is not in a better place.

Don’t compare your pain to mine. Your dog
getting hit by a truck is not the same.

You really don’t know how I feel.

Don’t say you’re devastated.
Does it always have to be about you?

Don’t ask me about Fentanyl.
Don’t tell me not to dwell.

Don’t minimize my loss.
My boy is not better off dead.

For once, let’s say it like it is:

He did not pass away.
He died.

There is no plan.
Don’t say he is at peace.

Silence is good. A hug.
Tell me you have no words.

Or tell me stories of that summer
he rode the bulls in Ogden,

all that life tightly in his grip.

for K.S-B.

First published in THE DEAD KID POEMS (KYSO Flash press, 2019)
Honorable Mention, Beyond Baroque Poetry Contest, 2019, Judged by Diane Seuss

Alexis Rhone Fancher is published in Best American Poetry, Rattle, Verse Daily, Duende, American Journal of Poetry, Wide Awake: Poets of Los Angeles, and elsewhere. She’s the author of five poetry collections, most recently The Dead Kid Poems, (KYSO Flash Press, 2019). A multiple Pushcart Prize nominee, Alexis is the poetry editor of Cultural Weekly.