Brotherhood Fourth

Brotherhood Fourth

Born fourth
The fourth and final brother
A small child
Who grew up, up, up
To stand among the trees

And stand tall
He does
In the face of challengers and challenges

He is my brother
He is an artist
With time, patience, and hope
He may grow taller still

Brotherhood Third

Brotherhood Third

Born third
Born listening to music
Born with a father's heart
A man with dreams
Dreams for himself
And his family

He loves
Provides and cares
Unconditionally

He is my brother
He is a husband
He is a father
He makes me proud

Brotherhood Second

Brotherhood Second

Born second
Born crying
Born uncertain
A follower of those
Stronger
Wiser
Braver

I may be the tallest
But in many ways
I am the runt

Thankfully, I have my brothers
To lift me up
Keep me standing
And carry me if they must

Brotherhood First

Brotherhood First

Born first
Born strong
Born kind
A hero to those who came after.
That hero was taken,
But never forgotten.

We keep him memory
Of once was
We keep him in hope
Of what could be

He is my brother
He was my hero
He is forever with me
Here in my heart

Defining Oneself

Defining Oneself

What have I been
But a constant
Yet evolving definition
Of no one other
Than myself?

An entry in life's volume
With chapters
And sections
Paragraphs and sentences
Of various lengths
With various purposes

Special crossover events
And one shot stories
Annuals both repetitive
Yet somehow special
An epic in length
Even if not in scale

The greater epic
Is the volume to which
I fulfill my duty
As merely a contributor

This epic volume
Has been
And will forever be
No matter the degree of significance
Of my contribution

It is not my place
To be significant
It is my place
To be but a small story
Worth writing, not necessarily telling

A small story
Worthy of the ink and pages
Even if it's never read
Even if it's never an influence
On the stories that do matter on an epic scale

It is my story
And it must matter
At least to me
Even if it's only to me

So, I will fill the page
With something that makes the page
Worth turning

Why Genuine Silver?

Why Genuine Silver?

Why, one may ask,
Would I turn to silver
To describe my poetry?

Why would I choose
A substance second best
To the gold cherished

The answer:

I am a piece of genuine silver,
Second-best to whatever better future
I make for myself
With the help of those
Who care the most about me.

Thank you to my family
My friends
My students

Thank you to those of you
I've never met,
But may have inspired with what I write

Thank you
All of you
For accepting this second-best version
This genuine piece of silver