Adrian

You have a warm smile
You are twenty-six years old
You are strawberry blonde like your siblings
You have strong shoulders and a six-pack we envy
You are captain of the football team
You have presence, yet are modest and shy
You make people laugh
You have many friends— I am one of them
You have a wife who loves you
Your parents are quietly proud of you
You have a little brother who idolises you
You are a skilled carpenter
You have calloused hands
You built a beautiful home with them
You are especially pleased with the oak staircase
You hope to have children one day
You would be a good dad
You deserve to be happy
You don’t deserve to have this cancer
You can beat it
You die within weeks of the diagnosis
You never stood a chance
You gave everything in your short life
You’ve been gone for seventeen years
You are so badly missed
You appear in my dreams again
You have a warm smile