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My Condolences to the “Nameless” Boy 

 

By Gia Defortuna '27

 

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Yesterday, the mom of a boy my age died, 

And here I am thinking I have it tough, 

pitying myself while I cry. 

And to think that yesterday 

the mom of a boy my age died.

I don’t know the boy’s name. 

I think he’s younger than I.

All I know is that he’s probably in a lot of pain. 

Under the circumstances, that’s probably guaranteed. 

What do you say to someone who’s lost so much, 

Someone who'll never again feel his mother’s touch. 

I couldn’t tell him I understand. 

It would be a lie. 

I’ve never experienced something like that firsthand. 

I’ve never had that kind of cry. 

I want to send my condolences to the “nameless” boy, 

But how do you say, “I’m sorry your life was destroyed,”

Without piercing the heart.

I probably won’t even be invited to the funeral, 

But still, I’ll grieve, though far apart.

If I ever see the boy on the street, I’ll never know it’s he.

But that doesn’t mean I’ll won’t remember what happened to him.

 

As I sit here in tears writing this elegy, 

I can’t help wondering what I would do if this happened to me.

Would I accept dreadful defeat? 

But this poem is not about me. 

It is about what happened, not what is to be. 

It is about the “nameless” boy 

Forced too quickly to outgrow his toys. 

I’m sorry, not that I played a role, 

But I’m sorry you didn’t have control. 

I’m sorry you had to be cut so deep 

And face the horrors of what happens to me 

Only in nightmares when I fall asleep. 

I send my condolences, my wishes that your wounds heal, 

That you smile when you think of her, with every piercing peal.