For Chuckles

He arrives into the room
breathing dried Rye grass
and stories of the clouds.

The youngest of five
found the muse of truth that
was running on the reservation
much sooner than the other four.

Wearing the green dinosaur shirt
or the red Cheshire cat tee
until they were paper thin
across his young boy body
made Pete and Georgia laugh
and the kids tease.

It saved time on laundry for the kid.

Then a young man
who found older sibling cologne
body scrubs and hair cuts
His body leaned
from long summer hours on the land--
working his family's way of life.

For harmony, he let the tone of the land
sculpt his last years of childhood
when abandoned by others
going off to college
losing to cancer
finding new love

And, then he found flying
just like the land, but different colors
His heart beat raw in the sky
He smiled and told stories at the dinner table
over prime rib and pasta
he grew

Hugging himself goodbye
he left
just like the others
looking over his shoulder
but to a new place
a place where he could call his own

Freshman year at University of Santa Cruz.