a church packed to the brim
an equal number of children and adults
the boy with no hair is front and center

it starts with a baseball game
he scored a home run
his father picks him up and twirls him in the air
love
but he feels something on the boy's leg
something he couldn't see
the boy who still has hair is fine, right?

a room that is too white, too clean
the friendly doctor doesn't know how to tell the boy who still has hair
that seemingly harmless thing on the boy's leg is
is
cancer
the boy who has hair only for a short time more can only ask
why

the too white, too clean room becomes a normalcy
they attach the IV and wires every day
optimism flows from family and friends
but the boy who's losing all his hair can still only ask
why

the days drag on
the IV and wires repeat and repeat and repeat
the boy with no hair no longer asks why
but now
is it even worth it
these are not thoughts for a twelve year old

another day in the too white, too clean room
the friendly doctor returns
this time knowing exactly how to deliver this news
evidently, it was worth it
the boy with no hair can only
smile

he goes to school again
he plays baseball again
he is a teenager again
the boy whose hair finally grew back is
okay again

a regular check-up appointment back in the too white, too clean room
the friendly doctor even cries
it's back
his lungs now
the boy who will once again lose his hair
has lost faith

6 months
that's all they give
evidently, it wasn't worth it

then his grandmother dies
she got until 88
at the funeral, he doesn't cry
he wears a black suit and a straight expression
those who don't know, wonder why he is being so insensitive
they don't realize it's because
in 6 months
it will be him
the boy who still has hair has run out of tears

a church packed to the brim
an equal number of children and adults
the boy with no hair is front and center