My son graduates today
And a classmate of his died yesterday
I am told it was a spot
The young went to test their mettle
Leaping, wild-armed off
To taste freedom in
Their metal courage
This is not the rite of passage
They thought they would have
Celebration heavy with loss
Making sense of what doesn't
I stand downstream
Knowing his blood
Mingles with the water
Knowing the rivers of tears
His parents will cry
Knowing I will let mine fall
Even as I dry them
To drive my son to the stage
How can anyone make sense of that?
Today they will learn
Lessons not taught in any classroom
The cost of love
The frailty of life
And the river flowing ever onwards.