The sky will forever be
that burst of blue,
waves steady along
the boat’s course
in the Antilles,
my brother at the helm,
smiling and tan
with curly hair
that will never gray,
a flat belly
that will never bulge,
his large heart
that will never fail.

This is the joy
of a photograph
sailing toward a cove
in St. Martin, summer
caught in a freeze-frame.
The phone does not ring
with news he is gone.
He does not enter the dark.
The sky will never lose its light,
sand remain forever white
before the clapboard
beach house timeshare.

His eyes, blue as the water
and warm breath of sky,
his hair tousled
by a gusty wind
sailing, always June,
always morning
opening up with sun,
no gray routine of days.
He is never alone.
He does not die.
His body continues
living the day
loving what it does.

Andrena Zawinski is the author of four full-length collections of poetry, the latest being Born Under the Influence, and a debut collection of flash fiction, Plumes and Other Flights of Fancy.