"Where
Have You Gone, Bro?"
Poetry by Michael F. Nyiri
August 181th, 2006 6:40 am pdt
Remember
that time I planted
both feet on your butt and pushed.
You flew through the air and
landed,
hitting a garden utensil
and nearly breaking your leg.
Dad got pretty mad,
and at the dinner table
he nearly choked me while admonishing
never to do that again.
And there
were the many times
we would "stage" fights for the
schoolchildren,
who never knew if they were
real or not.
Of course
our "real" fights were
legendary.
I can still hear Mom shouting
"Stop your rough-housing"
as I moved in for the kill
nearly breaking your windpipe
until you finally said "uncle"
Remember
our musical comedies?
Remember "Sir Lionel" and "Sir Bart"?
The standup routines, and the
five act "musical comedy" based on
the legend of the Greek Atreus
who fed his children to his brother.
What a laugh that was!
We were
so close we hated each other
sometimes more than we loved each other
We were so close that even in high school
three years apart,
all my friends knew you
We took
Drama together
combining our term project,
practicing the last act
of Hamlet, complete with swordfight
in the living room
When I was
in college I would
drive really fast around corners
while you would open the
passenger door and swing out
into the street as if
you were falling out of the car
When we
moved,
I got to know all your friends
and they would be
real impressed when I
tore through the foothills
behind Glendora driving
60 miles per hour
Brothers
Friends
Compadres
Then the
shit hit the fan
and the peeps died
You and Mary got married
and I moved away.
I remember you guys fighting
about child rearing
and you really didn't want your
drug and drink filled Uncle Mike
visiting while you were raising families
But I got
sober, and we reunited
I had a lot of fun dressing up
for your Halloween extravaganzas
Remember
me?
Remember your old bro?
We could talk for hours about film study
We shared favorite directors
Did you know they're remaking
"The Wicker Man?"
I remember when it seemed like
we were the only two people in
the world who knew about the
original film
You used
to paint such magnificence
of fantasy backgrouds and fire
breathing dragons
and damsels in distress
My sibling fantasy artist
I swear you painted
better than Frazetta
Where have
you gone, bro?
Will we ever laugh together again?
Where have you gone, bro?
Will I only just remember when?
At least
we used to call each other
on our birthdays
and then a couple of years ago
you stopped calling
I know you know how to get in touch
Just email me from my website
Just type my name in a browser search
But you know that.
You have my email, it hasn't changed
since the last time you sent me
some bulkmailed announcement
for some film on which you were working
or something else, it's been so long
I can't
remember
But I remember you on your birthday
Many happy returns,
And perhaps someday you shall return
to a place in my life.
Where have
you gone, Bro?
I miss you, goddammit.
Poetry
2006
