Family

One is a bit older, the other much younger, My brothers. I see them seldom As we live so far apart now. Actually, when we were young we didn’t Spend a lot of time with each other, anyway. We had our own friends, went our own ways. There was always time enough and to spare. As we grew older and had young families, We got together for holidays sometimes Or other special family events. We talked often on the telephone. We celebrated events with our children, Then grandchildren, and still do. But the years have passed, our children Are grown, with their own families, and We come to realize we are getting old. Suddenly we have a need to be connected To those who remember, those with whom We shared our childhood, those who Knew our grandparents, who shared our Christmas traditions, our family’s idiosyncracies. We need to see each other, to hug each other. We need to reminisce, to put our past In context, to put to bed old hurts And rejoice over the good memories. We need to remember our parents, To cry together about the sad times, And laugh at ourselves over funny Things that happened in everyday life. We need to love, to reconnect the past With the present, while there is still time.