(Paul DellaUniversita, North Babylon Senior High School, Class of 1967)
Adonis died today,
3,000 miles away.
My perfect sweet bird of youth,
Body sculpted to perfection
That it must be the truth
Of how all men should look, upon reflection.
Flash frozen in my yearbook,
His kindness cloaked by football jersey,
Forever young, forever athletic, forever heroic…
“Go Bulldogs”, we cheered, as he ran for daylight, ever stoic.
Adonis died today,
And with him our dream
Of playing on his team,
Or being part of his circle of friends
Who celebrated our time,
In ways so differently than mine.
His dress, his casual beauty and smile,
Made me long for such ease and grace,
And one sweet smile from his face
Made me think that maybe high school
Wasn’t such a terrible place, after all.
I saw him twice in 55 years,
His smile hiding pain and fears,
Of getting older, and no longer running downfield,
And yet, I failed to tell Adonis
How the light of his life,
Helped me get through mine.
Adonis died today,
And, I had so much more to say,
And he, many more turns
At love, and life, to play.