Lou

stars crinkle under our feet bouncing off the blades of moonlit grass carried downstream in the canal behind my house I walk down memory lane with my brother Lou Lou lost it in his teens diagnosed schizoid but able to function under guidance and meds together we lug a cumbersome old wooden box to the trash gently I quizzed him “do you remember us when we were little on our sled all the snow and fun we had?” Lou stares blankly into the night, “I was never small, I was made 6 ft. 3 in.” “but I have a photo of us” again Lou denies that such a time ever existed, insisting that he sprang full-grown from the mind of some unknown madness Christmas lights blink coloring his face red then green “That's alright Lou, I remember....” whispering goodnight I tuck Lou under the blankets of my heart and watch him trudge away a small boy in a gray snowsuit “Time it was, and what a time it was, it was A time of innocence, a time of confidences Long ago, it must be, I have a photograph Preserve your memories, they're all that's left you” (Simon & Garfunkle, 1968) Lou a tribute to my brother Lou who is schizophrenic. Recalling childhood memories. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=igUcumxjDyM