At the end of the news hour
they noted your death
in Afghanistan
and I pondered...
Just that morning
I cinched up the laces
of my hiking boots.
Just that morning
you cinched up the laces
of your US-issued army boots
for the last time
and last sacrifice.
I am no relation.
The only tangent
where we cross
is that you were from
Temecula, California
and in high school
I once ran a cross-country meet
in Temecula.
Through this silent media memorial
I find you are my age.
To my brother and surrogate
thank you for gifting me life
to see the light in my
unborn son's eyes,
for time to teach
my daughter to ride a bike
and to see
my thirtieth anniversary.
It may not seem worth the cost,
but it is everything and more to me.
Michael Shoemaker is a poet, writer, and photographer. He is author of Rocky Mountain Reflections (Poets’ Choice, 2023). Michael is a winner of the California State Poetry Society Prize and is on the shortlist for The Letter Review Prize for Poetry. His writing has appeared in Blue Lake Review, the High Window, The Penwood Review and elsewhere. His poems are anthologized at Poetry Pacific and Pure Slush. He lives in Magna, Utah with his wife and son. Michael has been awarded a Writer-in-Residence at the Wollf Cottage in Fairhope, Alabama in 2025. He is an editor for the Clayjar Review.