Letter to my brother
We are four and a half years apart
That's almost a whole school education
In fact, we've only been in the same school twice, and both times, you were the beginning and I was the end
Yet somehow at this point you're pretty much the same age as me mentally
I want you to promise me something
You're smart - so smart
I want you to never waste it
Don't let it slip like sand through palms like I did
Don't let words like "stupid" or "lazy" make you think you're worth nothing
Promise me that you'll always be aware of how important you are
And that you can always come to me if you need me
I want you to build a wall of safety
with a few bricks loose to let in those who matter most
Live with one eye open to see the world around you
and one closed to remember the one you can create for yourself
I want you to live by adages that were beaten into us
in the best ways you know how
Don't let your passion slip away
Everyone you've ever met remembers you
I don't know if you know that yet
How many lives you've touched
How many memories you made over time
Those people will never forget you
- Even if you forget them
You are more important than you know
and more talented than you can accept
I want you to embrace that
But I know you'll never listen to me
I grew up jealous of you
Of how great you were and could always be
And that I could never compare to that
And that I couldn't wait to escape from your shadow
But now
Now all I see is how far you could leap
And how much I'll miss you when you do leave
Because one of us will
We have to grow up sometime
I want you to promise me that you'll never forget me
That in twenty years’ time you'll still pick up the phone
And call me
And visit me
I want you to swear that I'll never lose you
Because you are the most important person to me
And you always will be
Because you are my brother
And I will never let you slip
Like sand through palms
