their dorm rooms
apartments
whole
with faces, hands,
mouths spouting laughter,
watering cans of glee
sprinkling the air with joy
and silliness
carefree
happy
going to a party
looking for a party
heading home from a party
and then
not
nothing
vanishing brings panic
searching
questions
as paths are retraced
friends queried for clues
surveillance reviewed for images
speculation fills the newsfeeds
for days, months, years
and then
discovery
remains
in some overlooked corner
a shaded mossy crevice
beneath silent watching trees
or the basement of an abandoned building
or a shallow grave
or a trash bin
the remains are found
they leave
whole
are found
bones
this is not how any parent
should have to retrieve
a lost child
merely bones
found remains.
=======

The impetus for this poem was the headline (Missing nursing student Holly Bobo's remains found in Tennessee) and first sentence (After three years of searching, the remains of Holly Bobo have been found in Tennessee.) of a CNN report posted on September 9, 2014, and was fueled as well by the more recent case of Hannah Graham. Hearing and reading these stories always evokes a tremendous sense of sadness, particularly as the parents and families of those murdered come to mind. While there is no easy way to lose a child, to have a child abducted and killed has to be especially horrendous to bear.
This poem is included in this collection:
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