4:30pm on Friday
came the call
“Come home Nathan’s dead”
said the strained voice of my son Ricky
“okay” was the only word
I could choke out
as I hung up the phone
I crumbled
heartache
despair
pounded me
while disbelief held out false hope
I drove home
streaming tears clouded my vision
sobs racked my body

I found my wife weeping uncontrollably
my son crying
“Oh God, it’s true”
Nathan is dead
My son is gone

I will never
see him
touch him
hear him
be with him again


devastated by grief
we held each other
shocked
disbelief
slammed by
heartache
misery
instinctively
knowing
this
is
but
the
beginning
of
our
journey
with
grief