hey chotto-bhai, heard

they promoted you to first commander

of the old crew. heard

you can turn the knots back into ropes

now, that they’re with

you. as for me, i’m still fighting not to be

~

a djinn or hate-burnt spire.

i haven’t razored my wrists, tho,

or pilfered the pills to end

the endless clang and clamor of oilchange-

whatshouldweeat-cash-

register (ka-ching! ka-ching! my girl J and i

~

would high-five and say

any time we saw boys we decided to confuse

into men). before you

judge, consider: before body there is nobody,

and we all begin

as small shores. ay littlest brother, heard you

~

tie ties by yourself

now, that out there, there’s the right one

to love, that you don’t

shake at the table as much anymore. is pink

still your favorite color?

do you eavesdrop with four ears and two

~

knocked knees?

listen, the ache of a sister for a brother

isn’t obvious or

~

absent. i swear, not all of us die at war

or in accidents.

chotto bhai, the books i left are secrets,

~

underlined beside

a summer-heavy pecan tree. write past all

the censors. i’ll

grab cheese-sticks, high-five you after,

~

tomorrow. Remember?