FOR BRIAN

When a boy was born, near the sun-swept shore,
A family grew from three souls, to four.
Together they would live, and would move, and would play,
Each entwined with each other in a most special way.

Under the watchful eye of their father and mother,
A special bond grew between sister and brother.
Though life choices would pull them so far, far away,
In hearts and in minds they were joined every day.

So proud were the parents, of what both had done,
Air Force officer daughter, police officer son.
Both careers could be risky, a fact they all knew,
But they read in their hearts what fate told them to do.

Protecting and serving, like the lawmen of old,
His uniform: dark; his shield: shining like gold.
He wed his life partner, his love came alive,
Where four souls were together, now there were five.

But what fate had united, it would soon pull asunder
With a flash in the dark, and a crack of cruel thunder.
The son fell...as a hero... and the night filled with tears,
His story was finished. and so ended his years.

The drums will sound slowly; the bags will pipe sweet,
His brothers.... his colleagues, march the funeral beat.
Gone but never forgotten. Loved, and always revered.
In the heavenly precinct, a new angel has appeared.

While the life as we knew it will be with us no more,
We will see the son's goodness on each sun-swept shore.
We will hear his soft laughter on each evening breeze,
And we will see his soul flourish in the leaves of the trees.

--- John E. Jackson
With All The Love My Heart Can Hold
November 2005