Brian Was Here (2026 Edit)

Brian was with me
in his home tonight.

Brian –
he carried me…

Brian –
he married me…

Brian was buried
in my arms tonight.

In these dreams he was older
than he ever was…

And his eyes shown then
with his long last love…

He held me in his arms because
his arms were a promise…
His tears were so honest
His sorrow was love
in the presence of pain.

His fingers undressed me…
His skin pressed against me…
Tomorrow would come
so we lived unrestrained.

His passion, once gone…
and for ever so long…
Unspooled
in the starkness
that above us was aching.

His fingers, they whispered…
His kisses, they blistered…
Then cooled
in the darkness
that our love was making.

The kisses between us
were innocent lust:

expressions of love
in the absence of fear.

For our time is precious
when doubt is infectious:

We must love our loved ones
while we have them here.

Written by Jason Wright
January 9, 2000
*

For Brian,

Who visited me in dreams
to love and be loved.

* This version was edited on July 24, 2026, which would have been Brian’s 50th birthday.


Cursed

Looking back at that
long ago
boyhood vacation…

That time of temptation…

That hour when (where)
boys were not all they seemed –

Looking back at that boy
who would seek and destroy
me long after the fact…
I could not react…

In my memory intact
I am cursed and I screamed.

Written by Jason Wright
January 8, 2000


For Patrick: Please Forgive Me.

Patrick was a boy I met on vacation who showed an interest in me, who I should have reacted to but didn’t, which is something I have always regretted, though I know I was trying to do what I thought was right. And we parted on good terms, with a hug goodbye, but it feels like an unresolved thing.

THE BOY FADES OUT

Remember that boy
& his inspiration?

Remember that boy
& our invitation?

Remember that boy?
Without hesitation…

Remember that boy
& you remember temptation.

But I don’t know that boy
& he doesn’t know me.

The boy faded out
& set us both free.

But then why am I writing
of his faded memory?

Whatever Whatever
will be will be.

Written by Jason Wright
January 3, 2000


For Nate:

Someone that I don’t really know, whose appearances are always brief and electric, who I wanted before I knew his name and long before his sweetest confession.

In the late 90s I spent nearly every night at a Denny’s located at 3310 Washtenaw Avenue in Ann Arbor, which was permanently closed on March 30, 2022, and has since been demolished to make way for a new Chick-fil-A. Gross.

That’s where I knew Nate from. I never knew his last name. I didn’t think I stood a chance with him but he said something really cryptic to me once that turned heads…but I only saw him once after that and it was in passing and he looked like he had really been put through the wringer. It wasn’t the kind of situation where I could talk to him and I never really knew him very well, so he just disappeared from my life. I hope he’s good.

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