KILLING MY BROTHER
I didn’t mean to do it
my intentions weren’t deadly
I just wanted to share with him
some Christmas shopping cheer
but I didn’t know
I met him at his open door
embraced him with a hug
holding neither gun nor knife
yet still a lethal greeting
because I didn’t know
we hastened to the bookstore
he’d always loved to read
with racks and stacks to choose from
he filled the shopping cart
so how was I to know
first ambulance to hospital
then he spiraled down
his chart revealed I’d given him
a gift more grim than books
I truly didn’t know
after all I had no symptoms
my vaccinations up to date
yet I’d shot the virus gun
that triggered his life’s end
everyone says
it’s not my fault
because
I didn’t know
and this is what
I tell myself
as I lie in bed
not sleeping
just
staring
at the
wall.
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