BUCKY
I remember laughing until I
wept; and my sides hurt,
then my heart ached
***
The great athlete, undersized
Ice hockey scrapper who
Would beat the hell out of
You on a basketball court
Behind the junior high, shouting
“let’s go big boy!”
***
His lower lip bulging,
In full concentration
While he threw a
Wiffle ball as though
Our lives depended on it
***
The decent guy taking care
Of mentally challenged kids over
At Cardinal Cushing
Bruised arms and shoulders his
Reward
***
The good friend who visited
Mom, while I was at war;
And when it was over he waved a flag
When I came home
***
The funny bastard who secretly
Drank virgin Mai Tais
Urging me to keep up,
Until I threw up
****
At West Island college
Party madness, he coldly
Grabbed a bottle and
Insisted he would eat the
Worm; only to lay down,
Incoherent in a crowded room
***
More interesting than he ever
Got credit for; always
Reading, discussing politics
And arguing sports until dawn
***
The bad influence who
Insisted we could drive
From North Adams at 2 am
When we had no business,
We changed a tire
On the Mass Pike with a
State Trooper; and it was
Fun; because we made it
***
The man who loved Christmas
A gift-giver and a visitor
Who liked to watch Rankin-Bass
And yes, he cried at the end
of A Wonderful Life
***
The Patriot who embraced America
Star-Spangled love affair
With 4th of July bursts of
Light, chomping a cigar
And no time for anyone not
Red, White, and Blue
***
The late bloomer, like me
After everyone had gone
He kept me hopeful, when the world passed me by –
We found another world
***
That world where Jim Morrison
Was always singing
And Friday night was always
Close
***
That world where friends
Gathered to listen to
Each other and laugh in
The face of any agony
***
A world of home runs,
Of family hope, that dashed
Any thoughts other than joy;
Of Red Sox dreams and
Laughter, always laughter
***
Then, he went away with
A heart too big to beat
Forever
Taking unspoken conversations
With him; except in dreams
I am still with him,
And we drink cold beer and
Solve all of, and none of
The world’s problems
***
Everything wrong is right again
Powder Point day of
Endless sunshine and this
Day will never end
Until he stands up and
Must be going, alone
***
“But Chaz, I promise
I’ll see you tomorrow”
***
Copyright © 2021 cjcheetham
Sean “Bucky” Keane was the dearest of friends and we lost him 16 years ago. Hardly a day goes by where I don’t think of him. the memories he left me with I cherish. I am so very thankful to have known him. I will never fully get over the loss of this great man. i tried for years to write an essay or story about him – but all I could muster was this stream of consciousness poem. I loved the guy.
cjcheetham 