Zachary "Moose" Triplett

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A thought from this poet comin' straight outta Flandreau,
Have no fear!  All these good people are bound to understand you
When you spout your long-distance blues embargo
'cuz ya can't dis the kid comin' straight outta Fargo.

I am trying to find the words for you, Zack,
Like that $1,000,000 answer on the tip of the tongue…
 
You are young like the 97s are old
Bold like Batman puttin’ his life in danger
Gifted like that Capricorn away in a manger
This ain’t no Bethlehem or Gotham or Metropolis,
But I’m just gettin’ started, and I’m about to topple this
List of sincere compliments,
Because I’ve got more rhymes than Whattaburger has condiments.

You are sharp like Galahad’s medieval mace,
Crazy...like Cookie Monster talkin’ smack with Anne Heche
And merry like Old King Cole
You’ve got soul

Like Redd Foxx on Sanford and Son,
Like Sherman Helmsley on the Jeffersons,
And like Robert Guillaume on Benson

Jim Henson on his best day couldn’t animate
A muppet at mischievous as you,
And that includes Animal and the Swedish Chef!
You are def, not like Marlee, but like a comedy jam.
You bring the new flava like the green eggs and ham.
Seuss could move his loose caboose,
But you’ve got the true juice, Moose,
Tearin’ up the dance floor with syncopated grooves
Music got ya pop lockin’ some funky fresh moves
Other teens take one look at you, and see!
They wish they had your style, your soul, and your CP!
How wack is that, Zack?
You affect people like the Grateful Dead “Ripple” hit
You’re so money,
if I could,
I would double and Triplett!
Zack, you make me glad to be alive…

 

So, when you see St. Peter, and he says, “Gimme five!”
Slap that old fart twice—-hard
Give him ten!
Tell him to throw out his John Tesh CDs and Boyz II Men,
Because you came to bring tha funk/bring tha noise today!
 
And a love like yours is not fade away…
A soul like yours is not fade away.

 

 

 

WE KNEW RIGHT AWAY YOU WERE SPECIAL

IN YOUR GLASS CUBE. . .

SO FRAGILE, YET SO FULL OF LIFE.

SHE FOUGHT FOR YOUR LIFE

AND SHE WON. . .

THEN, LIKE A FRESH BREEZE IN THE HOT SUN

YOU CAME TO US, OUR GRANDSON.

 

SHE CARED FOR YOU AND YOUR MIND MATURED,

AND LED YOUR BODY WHERE IT COULD GO.

NOT AFRAID OF LIFE  -  YOU TRIED IT ALL . . .

AND WE NEVER SAW YOUR TEARS.

 

WITH YOUR SMILE AND LAUGHTER

YOU TRUSTED US TO LEAD.

YET, WHEN ALL WAS SAID AND DONE,

YOU SHOWED US THE JOY OF LIFE.

WITH YOUR LOVE AND COMPASSION

YOU SHARED WITH US A LIFE THAT

DID NOT ENDURE, BUT WAS

SO TREASURED BY ALL WHO KNEW YOU.

 

YOU TOUCHED SO MANY. . .

 YOU HOLD SUCH A SPECIAL PLACE

IN OUR HEARTS.

 YOUR LIGHT WILL SHINE BRIGHTLY

IN OUR LIVES

UNTIL WE ARE WITH YOU AGAIN.

 

WE KNOW THAT WITH GOD

YOU RUN THE RACE FIERCELY.

WITH LONG TRUE STRIDES,

 HEAD HELD HIGH, LOOKING BACK AT US

TO SAY:  LOOK . . . SEE WHAT I CAN DO,

AND WHAT I’VE ATTAINED!

DRY YOUR TEARS, DON’T LET THEM

CONTROL YOUR LIFE, FOR I’M THANKFUL

WE HAD THOSE THIRTEEN YEARS.

 

SO, WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?

WE REBUILD OUR LIVES

BUT IT’S DIFFERENT . . . DIFFICULT . . .

THINGS ARE THE SAME, BUT NOT . . .

 

WE MUST GO ON . . .

WE WILL LIVE WITH FAITH

THAT WE HAVE GOD’S LOVE, AND

HIS GUIDANCE FOR ETERNITY

BECAUSE OF THE SWEETNESS

OF THESE THIRTEEN YEARS.

 

 

IN LOVING MEMORY OF OUR GRANDSON ZACK “MOOSE” TRIPLETT

GRANDPA AND GRANDMA MOORE

 

Today I touched your face again and watched you for awhile,

I talked of things deep in my heart - I wish could make you smile.

I rubbed your head and told you I’m proud you are my son,

For all the little things you did in life and the way you did each one.

You show such courage daily and you teach me how to live,

To make each moment count in life and to give what I can give.

Did I tell you you’re my hero when I saw you yesterday?

Or did it slip my mind again as I put you away?

I know your time on earth was short but it’s how you lived each day,

You made the most of what you had and always found a way

To touch the hearts around you, to love us while you may.

I wish with all my heart right now, the face I touched today,

Wasn’t made of paper or neatly placed away.

But I will put you on the shelf again for all the world to see,

I’ll talk to you tomorrow just like I do each day,

And I’ll tell you you’re my hero as I gently walk away.

 

by Heather Bell

A hated dream

That haunts my sleep about a day that the whole world wept

The day we will never forget

A day that changed all our lives

The day our closest friend left our side

The day our entire world changed

And that one moment meant everything

We sit, we wonder what could have been

We wonder why this…why that…why him?

We wonder why such a great guy had such a short life?

And why we take our lives for granted like it would never end

We say we’re ok, and we say that we’re fine,

But deep in our hearts we know we are lying

We act like life’s ok, and like it’s on track,

But what has been taken cannot come back

And one thing that troubles your sleep,

And what you really don’t want to see

Is that this dream is harsh reality.

 

It is December -
your world begins,
not with a bang
but a whisper
of measured beeps and tics -
the machinery of your breath.
Three five seven
lines of life
enter and leave
your tender tough body
huddled in the corner of the bed
warmed by bili lights
overhead.

The hushed pump of your heart
shows up on screen.
It is erratic,
and tells more than I want to know.

I touch but I can't hold
you cry but I can't hear
your ragged gasps
through the tubes
constricting your throat.

I rock alone in the wooden chair,
embracing a book instead of you -
tackling T.S. Eliot aloud
for my audience of one:
my son.
You know I am near -
when you hear my voice
within the quiet din,
your heart rate
evens out with mine.

We talk of Michaelangelo,
of hollow men,
and listen for the nightingales
hidden from view
as the nurses scuttle by.
We're wandering through the wasteland
together
in this cruel,
dry month
of your birth.

 

I have memories of you

A crab bit your friend’s hand

The sound of your favorite band

Gets stuck in my head, too

 

I have pictures of you

Doing silly faces

And photos of the places

Where we took a different view

 

Climb up over the fence

See the grass grow green

There’s so much to live

There’s so much to give

Climb up over the fence

Soak up the sunlight’s warmth

There’s so much to give

There’s so much to live

 

Some people say

That only the good die young

I wonder what went wrong

By taking them all away

 

It’s just not fair

You will be forever gone

While others just live on

Counting bubbles in the air

 

Climb up over the fence

See the grass grow green

There’s so much to live

There’s so much to give

Climb up over the fence

Soak up the sunlight’s warmth

There’s so much to give

There’s so much to live

 

I watch you dancing up the blue sky

Won’t you give it another try –

I watch you dancing up the blue sky

And there’s no reason why

You shouldn’t be here anymore.

 

by Trina for Zack  (inspired by Sue Crane and her poem for Viv)

You should be in your room
Picking out the melody on your guitar
or in the den
defeating kingdoms on the computer
or in the living room
watching Ferris Bueller again on TV
or in the shower
Singing very loudly off-key.

But you’re not.

You should be heading out the door
To ride your brand new bike
Over to your friends’ where you’d
Write songs, hang out,
Make jokes, make out
Without me finding out.

You should be with your family,
Playing games or traveling,
Camping, swimming, talking, eating,
Laughing.  Always laughing.
Laughing with us in our home.

You should be next to me
Quietly reading a book,
Giving me a look
When I laugh out loud reading mine.

You should be here in my arms.
You should be here.
You should be.

And you’re not.

it's 3:30pm and you don't call

time hasn't healed me

and there's no meaning to be found in all

the happiness that deceived me

 

every song I hear or boy I see

stops my heart from beating

'cause there are no words conceived

that will stop my bleeding

 

and anger doesn't describe

the crescendo of pain

the emotional suicide

of despondency's gain

 

all the questions exhausted

and the answers few

leaving me caustic

uprooted, confused

 

and as I lay in my bed

coerce my mind to rest

I'm reminded you're dead

by the life in my chest

 

 

-Dad

 

If I Knew

author unknown

If I knew it would be the last time
That I'd see you fall asleep,
I would tuck you in more tightly
and pray the Lord, your soul to keep.

If I knew it would be the last time
that I see you walk out the door,
I would give you a hug and kiss
and call you back for one more.

If I knew it would be the last time
I'd hear your voice lifted up in praise,
I would video tape each action and word,
so I could play them back day after day.

If I knew it would be the last time,
I could spare an extra minute
to stop and say "I love you,"
instead of assuming you would KNOW I do.

If I knew it would be the last time
I would be there to share your day,
Well I'm sure you'll have so many more,
so I can let just this one slip away.

For surely there's always tomorrow
to make up for an oversight,
and we always get a second chance
to make everything just right.

There will always be another day
to say "I love you,"
And certainly there's another chance
to say our "Anything I can do?"

But just in case I might be wrong,
and today is all I get,
I'd like to say how much I love you
and I hope we never forget.

Tomorrow is not promised to anyone,
young or old alike,
And today may be the last chance
you get to hold your loved one tight.

So if you're waiting for tomorrow,
why not do it today?
For if tomorrow never comes,
you'll surely regret the day,

That you didn't take that extra time
for a smile, a hug, or a kiss
and you were too busy to grant someone,
what turned out to be their one last wish.

So hold your loved ones close today,
and whisper in their ear,
Tell them how much you love them
and that you'll always hold them dear

Take time to say "I'm sorry,"
"Please forgive me," "Thank you," or "It's okay."
And if tomorrow never comes,
you'll have no regrets about today.

 

 

 

Please                           ~~

Please, don't ask me if I am over it.
I will never be over it!
Please, don't tell me he is in a better place.
He isn't  here with me.
Please, don't tell me he isn't suffering.
I haven't come to terms with why
he had to suffer at all.
Please, don't ask me if I feel better.
For bereavement isn't a condition that clears up.
Please, don't tell me,
At least you had him for so many years.
What year would you choose for your child to die?
Please, don't ever tell me that,
God doesn't give us more then we can handle.
Please,  just say you are sorry.
Please, just say that you remember my child.
Please, just talk to me about my child.
Please,  just mention my child’s name.
Please,  just let me cry.
Author Unknown

 

 

 

Touching Shoulders

There's a comforting thought at the
close of the day.
When I'm weary and lonely and sad,
That sort of grips hold of this poor old heart
And bids it be merry and glad.
It gets in my being and drives out the blues
And finally thrills through and through,
It's  just a sweet message that chants this refrain,
"I'm glad I touched shoulders with you."

Did you know you were brave?
Did you know you were strong?
Did you know there was one leaning hard?
Did you know that I waited and
listened and prayed?
And was cheered by your simplest word.
Did you know that I longed for
the smile on your face?
For the sound of your voice ringing true?
Did you know I grew stronger and better because
"I had merely touched shoulders with you."

I'm  glad that I live, that I battle and strive,
For a place that I know I must fill.
I'll live with my sorrow and try to be strong,
While fortune may bring good or ill,
I may not have wealth,  I may not be great,
But I know I will always be true.
For I have in my life that courage you gave,
"When once I touched shoulders with you !"