...

( Death. )

And then you get 1am doggerel AREN'T you the lucky ones

( Grief. )

( A second thought. )

And, slightly less wild with grief and early mornings

pebblepup can tell you about himself better than I ever could.

We spent an hour chatting in the basement of the maths department one evening. Earlier - much earlier - he (all unknowing) set my mum on the path to being... okay about queer people (though it took several stand-up-screaming rows to get her there).

He was not mine and never was - I was only ever in distant orbit - but he left his marks on me all the same: here is how you can carry your illnesses, and carry them with humour; here is how you can make life better for LGBT+ kids; here is how to laugh.

Go well, Pebble, and I thank you.