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Collin Barber

Left Hand Man

He was only 22, but for many of those who knew him it came as no surprise. His mother had no idea. A few days before his death, the two of us sat beneath a sky as dark as any I have ever seen. There was no moon and there were no stars. It was here that he wrote his first and last poem. It was hardly legible when read in the light, but he made it crystal clear that he thought of himself as the Devil's left hand man. When I heard the news that he left us, I wasn't surprised. Ultimately, when faced with the complexities that define life, he simply walked away.

morning sunlight—
an unfinished game
still on the chessboard