a cousin has passed
memories and tears flow

once
we were children 
playing in the back yard
slurping up watermelon 
a spitting seed war
running
through cool water hose spray
summer heat 
pushing us on

a cousin passes
my place in line
moves forward
one shuffled step 
my brain works to rewire
assumptions 
childhood fantasies
of a stationary life
the many aunts and uncles
parents too
twenty seven now two 
a new order
reigns
a new position 
gained

this stinging truth
tears at my heart
the passing of time
equal only to
the passing of people 
such sacred moments
and loved ones too
more loved
more rare
more true

a cousin
has passed
a reminder 
the time
to fully engage 
to deeply live 
to greatly love 
to defer the line a tiny bit
is not then or later
is only right now 
now is passing too