Howard Would Have Been Eight

She sat down at the kitchen table, but there was nothing she ate,

Wiping stray tears, today Howard would have been eight.

She missed his little body curled up beside her; all the books they read,

She missed his mischievous smile when his hands were stained strawberry ice-cream red.

Howard was always so selfless, offering to help with the dishes each week,

Howard was always so loving, comforting the kids in P.E. others viewed as weak.

Despite her lack of hunger she went to grab some cereal from the pantry bin,

Frosted Flakes brushed her hand, those were what Howard's favorite had been.

She laughed at the thought of her baby, he always said he'd add more sugar if he was on the "cereal council",

How upsetting it was that she was now the one seeking counsel.

He was just a sweet young boy, every night by his bed he would pray,

Such a sweet young boy, a drunk driver's prey.

She felt all alone on the morning of February 12, 2014, but she knew she was not,

The fact that 1,149 parents of kids under the age of fourteen were going through that same first birthday without their baby this year, left her stomach in a knot.

*Every time you drink and drive you risk tearing apart a family, don't take that risk.