My son, Charlie Coté, died in 2005 from melanoma at the age of 18. He once wrote: "Certainty is the cage that keeps us safe from curiosity. I've been released from the cage. I'm the songbird, and I'm flying for the window. I know it's closed, but I plan on breaking through."

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Charlie was a singer-songwriter and the frontman for Fivestar Riot. He played the upright bass and wrote song lyrics every day in his journal. When he was diagnosed with cancer at age 16, he said he didn’t want to live his life as if he were dying. He had a deep and authentic faith in God and in people. Playful and immensely creative, he embraced life with passion and originality.

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I wrote a poem about how his life continues to inspire me. It’s called "What I Wear":

"This world above worlds is a prairie
of clouds and sun glare.
Below, the smoldering hearths shed smoke
like irradiated hair.
Worth less than his breath on earth,
his song plays in my ear.
I listen for clues, the gift of his verse.
You see me wear this blue plaid shirt?
I play his red guitar."

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If certainty is the cage, then curiosity, creativity, and connection are the ways we break free. The meaning of Charlie’s life is that we are here to learn, love, laugh, and sing in our most original way—to find our voice and share it with others.

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- Charles Coté, LCSW