I never understood what it was like to have a close uncle until I met you
You lifted me up and gave me hope
You looked happily married with a child and a second on the way
I learned Sunday football not from my dad but from you
I still can't recall it but you called me "thunder" after dancing to the AC DC song as a kid and it never left

But the older I grew the wiser I became
I realized that you were more than you seemed
The first thing I realized was that my family was the glue to your marriage
The second thing I realized was that what you drink is alcohol...consistently
The third thing was you smoking but at the time I thought was okay because my dad would too
The fourth thing is that your now two kids had disabilities, one with autism, other with stunted growth
Your dream life that I looked up to wasn't a dream but a mere foundation with a poor base

As a child it hurt to see you like that
The wisest I think I ever did was realize to spend more moments with you than I normally did
Because the longer this went on the more obvious the divorce
My mom put it in the most painful words I ever heard "He chose alcohol over his family"

Now your in a duplex near me hopefully not drunk
But definitely still smoking because my dad can't win that battle and he is the strongest man I know
No matter what happens to you I won't stop thinking of you as my uncle I can promise you that

This is less of a poem and more of a way to get this off my chest
I love you. Sincerely, Leo