One of my pupils

In Memoriam __________ ___________
(Died in Syria aged 19 October 2014)

Our city empty of you, absence your
sole parting gift. Familial fabric rent
and only threads left. In year eight I saw
a mischievous smile, downcast eyes, assent

to being loved. My son your peer. And now
a beauteous boy, Sunday Times pages show
your face. For distance was your choice, was how
you solved your need for definition; so,

explained a restlessness with our embrace.
At home, but embarrassed to deny
your history, you apologized and raced
to folly, though you didn’t say goodbye.

A naïf on the chessboard, no going back,
you accidently found yourself on black.