18 years of
“Look after each other,”
Making sure the other was alright
After a small fight or major disappointment

18 years we’ve been together,
Literally since the womb,
Teaching each other and
Knowing everything about one another’s lives

Yet tonight the house feels empty;
I first felt it on the ride home,
My youngest brother was no longer
Complaining about the middle seat

Now as I lie awake,
Unable to push the onslaught of memories
To the corners of my mind,
I can’t help but think of the empty bed next door,
Once filled with such anger and love;

I sense you lie awake in your new foreign home,
Recalling the memories of three naive pioneers
Who thought they would never grow up;

“Please keep in touch” I plead in my head,
Unsure of what our future holds instead

I hope you make the most of this opportunity,
I simply wish I could be a part of it;
They say people fear change
And I’ve never believed it,
But I knew this wasn’t true
When I shed tears for our vanishing youth

18 years
Side by side with my other half
Now, suddenly, ripped away
And soon I leave our youngest brother
To the same, unsure fate
And I can’t help but wish
We could do all 18 years over again
Because then at least we’d be united;

The three pioneers,
Ignorant of change and adulthood
Forever burdened by finite childhood
Never wasting a second
In each other’s presence