An elegy for Ray
I knew Raymond Nakazato from my Speech Communications class at the Northern Marianas College. We always had a great time joking with each another. He’d make fun of my bald head; I’d always say he may be in the same boat because of his habit of wearing a hat to class. His sense of humor, smile, and attitude always made my day. He shouldn’t be gone, yet he is, and the pain of his absence is overwhelming. I hope this poem will help me and Ray’s family cope with his passing.
‘Heart for Ray’
it’s too heavy
full of blood in the same story
i didn’t do enough to belong
only people through pinholes make it
the ones who move mountains with belief
the unborn too young
they have a chance
my muscled drum weighed against a hawk’s flight over clouds
i wish to tuck under my arms
be above everything
before they realize my charade
getting in a with a heart-shaped box
filled to the brim
with uncertainty
Adam Walsh
NMC Faculty
