A Quick Story About an Important Friend
by Wes Ritchie
I think about him always, gone too far--
The friend who drifted past the warning signs,
Like scattered stars that tell us who we are.
From Mexico to needles in a jar,
From dinner parties, princes, grand designs--
I think about him always, gone too far.
His life unspooled adrift without a star,
Through stories strange as tangled fishing lines,
Like scattered stars that tell us who we are.
Each warning flag became another scar:
The drugs, the lies, the slow but sure decline--
I think about him always, gone too far.
He posted death dates like a falling star,
Then vanished past Portuguese coastlines,
Like scattered stars that tell us who we are.
Though distance grows between us near and far,
His memory with my own life intertwines--
I think about him always, gone too far,
Like scattered stars that tell us who we are.
The friend who drifted past the warning signs,
Like scattered stars that tell us who we are.
From Mexico to needles in a jar,
From dinner parties, princes, grand designs--
I think about him always, gone too far.
His life unspooled adrift without a star,
Through stories strange as tangled fishing lines,
Like scattered stars that tell us who we are.
Each warning flag became another scar:
The drugs, the lies, the slow but sure decline--
I think about him always, gone too far.
He posted death dates like a falling star,
Then vanished past Portuguese coastlines,
Like scattered stars that tell us who we are.
Though distance grows between us near and far,
His memory with my own life intertwines--
I think about him always, gone too far,
Like scattered stars that tell us who we are.
Wes Ritchie is an emerging writer living in Provincetown, Massachusetts. His forthcoming chapbook, Just Out Here Trying to Feel Something is under contract with Finishing Line Press for Fall 2025 publication. His poetry has appeared or is forthcoming in Beyond Words Magazine (April 2025) and Wingless Dreamer's "Whispers of the World" anthology. Wes earned his B.A. from UMass Boston and his J.D. from Suffolk University Law School.