The Most Precious Resource

Already gone,

My brothers, my sisters,

Who love me,

Whom I love.

When you think you have all the time in the world,

That’s when it hurts the most.

When you think you know when they’ll go,

And you find out they’re already gone.

People are the most precious resource in the world.

Completely exhaustible,

Almost never forgettable.

They entered my heart in a parade

Of flowered traditional dancers and gentle thoughtful movements.

But they were ripped from me

Like Huascar’s unborn child from the womb.

Such beauty and love they don’t even realize,

Means so much so me, as I walk away wiping my eyes.

They are simply who they are.

No masks, no charades, no facades,

Or poker faces playing strategic cards.

They opened right up to me,

Allowing my eyes and heart to see their realities.

They don’t know how much I love what I saw.

How I’m in awe,

That a family can love so much and hurt so little,

That despite is all, they can fall

Into a coexistence of joy,

That for the rest of us is a riddle.

Really I think I’ve let them down.

I will remember them forever,

But I’m just one of their SST whatevers.

Sure I’m part of the family—for two weeks.

Then I’m off with memories that will never be forgotten,

Leaving them with just a hat, a mix CD, and a chess set I’d boughten.

They are role models,

They are Christ figures,

They are light in the dark,

They are true lovers.

I hate goodbyes because I know they are important,

Because they are what you remember,

Until next time—if there is a next time.

If there’s not, goodbyes really are everything.

And in that moment, my everything fell to pieces.

And they are worth more than my everything all together.

Gracias, y Te Amo.

Celestino, Inés, Caleb, Abby, Lisi, Erik.