Marco

You pulled me

across your basement floor

in circles on a rug

I was four years old,

and I laughed

as you did,

and you were strong

I told the other kids

my middle name

was Marco,

and, proudly,

I said that I

was named for you

I saw your face,

smiling as always,

within your name

when I wrote mine

I watched your hair

turn platinum,

but never fall out

You watched me grow,

and never once

were you not proud

You always said

that I was strong

long before I truly was

I watched you as

you lost your wife,

and saw you cry

as you held your daughter

I saw you stand

at your love's grave

and you prayed;

you shed your tears,

but stood your ground

I watched you stand -

strong, composed -

through it all;

a life well lived

You showed me what

I try to be -

always full of love

and always with a smile

Even through the pain,

through sickness

and through fear,

in foreign places 

and new chapters,

you always smiled

I heard today

that you were sick;

I cried for you

and wished that I 

could take your pain

And selfishly,

I wished that you

could never leave

You haven’t yet,

but when you do,

I know that I 

will shed my tears,

But I will stand

strong as you are

and I will smile

because you taught me to

No matter the storm,

no matter the place,

despite the weight

of the unknown

I'll always smile

the way you always have

And, proudly,

I will always see

your face in your name

when I write mine