THE THORNLESS ROSE In loving memory of Keelan John Normand August 6, 1981-May 4, 1999 I am hurting, you are not You cannot be hurt where you are I am lonely, you are not Surrounded by angels singing praises to God I miss you, do you miss me? I know you are with me wherever I go Where I am, roses have their thorns Even the purest love is clouded by distance caused by pain Oh, what I wouldn't give for a thornless rose Like those that are grown where you are Sometimes I can't wait to be where you are, Where the thorns will be plucked from my rose for eternity I will see you there and present it to you, And in return for the first time I will recieve A thornless rose I wrote this poem in memory of my first cousin, Keelan. He was 17 years old, half a year younger than me, when he was tragically killed in a car wreck on his way to work one Tuesday afternoon. We were both set to graduate in just two weeks. I could have seen him the weekend before his death, but I didn't. I thought I would be seeing him the next weekend and he was getting ready for his senior prom anyway. He didn't survive that long. Learn from my mistake: if there's something you've always wanted to say to someone, say it as soon as you can. Don't wait. You don't know how much longer you or that other person has. Tomorrow is a treasure; not a guarantee.