

sever the corpus collosum with
pruning shears you find in the
garage but wd-40 the blades first
so it is one snip and not a series of
nibbling perforations -
it is impossible to nest when
everything is so shiny



i've thought about the hypotheticals involved in the grief and in the end i see new figurines and rawly unapologetic manifestations that seem to reflect an unintended beauty of pain tracing effortless tracks dabbed by the presence of others and i think i don't want to watch but my vision is distorted enough that it becomes an obligation as if it is my duty to observe and take notes on the natural behavior of those who have themselves forgotten themselves and all others besides him and those who resemble him


but i thought mostly of you in the front seat like i was in october and what made brendan lose control - for mary it was a ladybug - and if you knew like i did of the imminent violence and i hoped to god that you hadn't and cried every time i imagined you pulling your legs down to protect yourself and how it didn't matter whether or not you had implored god to stop time or at least the forward momentum that would kill you because before your eyes could even track the halt your body removed your sense of perception there wasn't time to register or name the feeling of your squishy internal organs (you'd always had a soft heart) compressing unnaturally against the inside of your rib cage betraying the strength of the rest of you or maybe instead just a testament to the fact that you always drank your milk and i cried even more when i thought that you were so good that you wouldn't even be mad at god for being a fucking indian giver and i cried even more because that made me more selfish than god.


UPDATE

Leon Battista Alberti wrote in the early 15th century that, "a man can do all things if he will." This phrase, borne from the minds of Renaissance humanists, places humans as limitless in their capacity to learn and succeed across a broad variety of activities. These days, we use the term Renaissance Man to describe individuals who embody this principle. In thinking about Mark, it seems to be the only accurate way to describe him.

Mark's talents as an athlete, artist, and student are inarguable; he's always been good at everything he's tried. His exuberance for almost everything was nothing short of infectious, and he is inseparable from the adventures of my childhood. Although I probably wouldn't have thought about leaping down Sleeping Bear Dunes or building a hovercraft in the garage or trying to make an ice rink on the Rouge River, I was always glad I'd gone along with Mark's enthusiastic ideas.

Above all, though, Mark's greatest attribute was the sense of equality and fairness that guided all of his actions. Even at age seven, he was telling my younger brother and I to stop picking on our younger sister, and for my brother to stop being grumpy towards everyone. I am convinced that his kindness was not only effortless, but rather inherent, as evidenced by the turnout at his visitation and funeral. What I admire most is how blind Mark was to labels or prejudices of any sort, and how genuine his belief in the goodness of others was.

Mark truly was the type of person we all strive to be, and the world has lost a wonderful son, friend, brother, etc. The best way to honor him, I have decided, is to try and live my life with the love, compassion, and kindness Mark lived his with. I feel honored to have spent so much time with Mark Reedy, and give all my love to his family and all those who were as lucky as I was to have known him.


From The Detroit News: http://apps.detnews.com/apps/forums/newstalk/lettersindex.php?relatedURL=http://www.detnews.com/article/20100217/OPINION03/2170332#ixzz0gCyRQKYt