Away

I half expect to hear my dog Come clomping down the stairs As I sit on fresh, new carpet Not the same of former years The basement’s cool; it always is Its walls the brightest white But there will be no dog today I fear she’s left this life The movie ends, my parents leave I continue to wash clothes Up the stairs I walk and stop To think in my repose: In my brother’s room is a box A wooden crate long forgotten It resides on his closet floor Retired from its purpose of upholding the box television We used as kids to play video games My brother, who would sneak downstairs To catch a midnight moment on computer games My brother, who would sneak out at night To pursue his romantic interests My brother, who grabbed me by the hand And dunked me by the Father, Son, and Spirit… My brother has moved away And his is not the only marriage They are popping up left and right All around in all four seasons As boys grow into men And here I am, heart full of turmoil As I sit in the spot the Christmas tree resides As it has for 18 years As it does on every year When Christmas rolls around But its summer now and my days are long And my time at home is short To get good grades And win a heart Is the desire of every student I’m leaving, too, severing all ties Thinking of the graduation caps blooming with balloons All saying equivalently “Adventure is out there” And my next step is forward But my heart screams “Backward” But I, too, am moving away