For then. And Andy. And now.

I was in the eleventh grade and the first boy I knew / personally / to go missing / was Andrew / we called him Andy / it was 1986 so the social media we knew / were black and white pictures on telephone poles / I saw his face on a telephone pole / but how could he be missing / when he was just in biology on Monday / what happened to Andy / his pale face and thin lips / and dark eyes and bushy brows / stapled to a pole / what happened to my friend / the next week / Andy showed up in class like he wasn't the topic of all the school talk / like there weren't flyers with his face / Andy / Andy / Andy came back to class / came back to us / he never told us what happened / we just got used to Andy being back / back / back home to us / and I think about Andy every time I open my laptop / and see a young boy / a young girl / about Andy's age at the time / gone / missing / I pray the same prayer / the prayer I prayed for Andy / for safety / for arms reaching out / I pray that home is some place safe to return / I pray / all the time I pray / there are too many / prayers