The Scar

“Only girls cry!…Oh, boo hoo!” laughed my brother, (as big brothers often do) He had been taunting me, teasing me, heckling me, as I whined, complained. Neither of us would have won a prize, for being the angelic sibling pride, of Kirby street one day outside, in hot July... “You jerk!”..I cried,…a laughing stock...his mocking me.. He smirked, while our brawl played out for all the world to see. No recourse, no remorse..(poor me!!)… I was the butt of his demeaning jokes and by then my temper had been stoked, he had poked me once too often! So HUGE, was my disdain for this smug, big thug, that grinning face, so....in retaliation, for my humilation, (as an enraged little sister might do..) I grabbed one of his model airplanes….and threw....! But then..... it broke into shards, big shrapnel pieces…I dashed for cover... cowering behind the hedge…waiting for his own revenge!… Instead it left a gash, an ugly wound, I was aghast...! Above his nose.........a bloody rose Well, of course our Mother got involved.. . It was resolved by iodine and bandages And a tongue lashing... “You could have put out his eye!! ….and then we cried, …the two of us Well, we would repent, with orders to spend the day becoming friends... The afternoon sun was hot in the yard…. Until, a sudden, lightning shot ..tires skidding loudly down hot asphalt One unguarded moment fell, and things came to a halt As if a horrible spell, was cast upon the day …. there was a car,.... around the bend the game we played, about to end.... his dog, (a sweet dalmatiion friend) was hit ....and then.... all time suspends........ My brother’s sweet dog, who slept on his bed, was gone The next hours painfully hung…with weight of the memory lingering on…. Ending with me alone in my bed.. Mute with grief ….remembering his words….”Only girls cry”…. Hearing his sobs……all through the night.. And my parent's cooed comfort, the soundtrack to this tragic movie That still plays in my darkest theater….all these years later I shudder still, have a lump in my throat…how that faint little scar, above his nose.... can still emote… such feelings of tenderness I felt on that day. Over the years…we have shared many tears… we have leaned on each other, me and my brother Big girls will cry, just as little girls do…and big boys can cry, ..And hey,...ya' know what? ..That’s okay, too. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Carrie Richards