MY Li'L BROTHER

Still early in the morning
And I have already done
All the bad deeds
That one is allowed to do in a day
If there is such a thing

I must admit I committed no crime
Certainly not punishable
Maybe objectionable, reprehensible
Questionable
And so utterly incomprehensible

And so it was that I walked
With a heavy heart, and a troubled conscience
And my heavy feet were dragging
The seemingly dead weight of my dying soul

It was on that moment
That I noticed that I was walking alone
In the midst of the chaos
Of strangers whose faces
Were indistinguishable from one another
Men and women wearing the same clothes
Having the same corn-colored hair
And eyes as blue as the sky
And eyes as empty as the sky
And eyes as distant as the sky

And it was on that moment
That I remembered my li'l brother
Sitting on the floor
White Nautica shirt hugged the body
Of the face unnoticeable
Under the shades of a newly washed LSU baseball cap
Still, unmistakably familiar
Were the pair of old, severely used denim shorts
And white socks that begged to retire
And the vision still lingers on my mind
That I offered my li'l brother a hand
And helped him to stand
And led him to the door
Where he learned to walk

Away,
Away from me

And so it happens that once in a while
I walk with a heavy heart
And my heavy feet dragging my troubled conscience
Looking for that one familiar face in the crowd
Looking for that one crooked smile
Made more crooked still by a silly blue retainer
One ugly squint of the eye
One beer belly too big for the stained NIN shirt
One set of army boots complaining that it is tired of walking

One li'l brother lost

And quite possibly,
Already forgotten