His Turn is Long Overdue
I
sat there in the chair
On
the deck
Which
feels so secure as home
Looking
at the beauty of the sky
Again
And
saw them coming
The
trees
Bending
down
To
take me
My
vision blurred
Clouded
Like
I imagine
Supernatural
to be
When
it arrives
I
sat there
Calm
Curious
Perhaps
even eager
Part
of me
Hoping
to do nothing
To
halt the arrival
For
three days
I
have thought of him
Never
had I before gave him such thought,
at
such length
And
for some
Reason
This
time
Thought
he was coming
Coming
to
Take
my place
The
older brother I never
Met
Who
never had a chance
To
live a life
He
said I had wasted the life
He
never got to have
That
he was not angry with me
But
wanted a chance
The
older brother
What
would have that been like
For
me
For
my sister
Had
he had his life?
I
would have been child
Number
three
Is
there some different dynamic to that
The
kid brother
The
baby of the family
The
second male
He
would have been the
Star
no doubt
Named
after our father
The
first child.
The
first male of that
Generation
throughout
The
larger
Family
And
I tell him now
Come
You
are right
You
should get to live some years
Even
if just these older ones
I
had enough
It
would be more than fair
Just
promise to care for the dogs
They
deserve love
As
you deserve life
Tom Squitieri
Tom Squitieri is a
three-time winner each of the Overseas Press Club and White House
Correspondents’ Association awards for his work as a war correspondent. He
reported from all seven continents, always writing as a voice for the
voiceless. His writing and reporting have been published in an array of
newspapers and magazines. Tom has taken his love of storytelling to
poetry. His poetry has appeared in The Raven’s Perch, No Strings Attached,
Style Sonata and The Griffin’s Inkpot.
Tags:
Poetry