Uncle Ray

Thank you to The Phoenix Soul for publishing my poem, Uncle Ray.  

What a tough poem to write.  I've been writing it most of my life.  My Uncle Ray passed away when I was only six, but my few memories are only good memories, and my family did a pretty darn good job coloring in those happy lines with their own happy memories.  I didn't know him well, but I think of him often.  He made one poor decision that eventually cost him his life.  Though my family shared the happy memories, I grew up in the aftermath of that decision and its effect on my family.  

We're all connected in so many different ways.  Grief is only one of those ways.