Poems of a Small Brother

...brol/iei, hear m\ call Too sleepy Brother, biother il unicun keep the ?/(c/> lioin creeping in Night between us needs a friend Little brother, hold my hand Well ok CATCH In this old mitt my fingers feel the wrinkles Smack Those stingers tickle My hand is either falling off or going numb Smack Those hummers hum Oops There goes another ball we'll never find My palm won't mind HOMEWORK Where can I find a ram forest7 Where it's wet What if it's only misty7 Who was Julius Caesar7 A Roman Romans are only history Ho w do you spell A laska 7 Like it sounds Sounds like an icy mystery How do you do division7 Short or long7 Long's fine—if you 're not too busy When will I be smart7 When you spell When you divide W hen you conquer When vou can see the rain forest for the trees I'm getting dizzv THEBOXER My brother loves his boxing gloves Not me, nol me He ties them tight so he can fight Nol me, not me He points his toes and aims his blows at mc, at me He hits m\ eye but I don '1 cr\ \ol me, not me He drops his vitard I slim him hard Thui \ me...

...States of the Union POEMS OF A SMALL BROTHER BY RICHARD J MARGOLIS ' t is through fraternity that liberty is saved,' observed ^ Victor Hugo—and, in my case, that poetry is written Here are some poems shaped from memories of my small-brother childhood They are part of a sporadic work-in-progress (see "Racing Through Childhood," NL, April 9, 1979) that is coming along at about the same rate I did some 40 years ago Slow but steady NOW THAT I AM Before I was my brother was an only He ran alone, not knowing he was lonely Before I was my brother had no brother He slept alone, not dreaming of another Now that I am we run and dream together, imagining no other kind of weather SOUPS AND JUICES Did you hear about my big brother7 The lucky stiff is sick All day they bring him soups and juices When he calls, they come running They keep puffing his pillow I'm supposed to stay out but tonight I peeked in He was asleep The dumb kid had kicked off his blankets so I went and covered him up He looked small TWO WHEELS I told you I won't ft's too hard I told you I can't It's too hard Didn't I tell you7 My feet, they won't reach My hands, they won 7 steer It's too hard Watch out—I'm tipping Don't let go—I'm falling Please I give up Not so fast, not so fast I don't like this Stop stop stop stop Hey, I can 7 stop Hey, I'm riding, I'm riding Hey hey hey hey hey Did you see me9 What did I tell you7 It was easy ALL MY HATS AII my hats are hats he wore What a bore All my pants are pants he ripped What a gyp All my books are books he read What a head All my fights are fights he fought What a thought All my steps are steps he tried What a guide All my teachers call me by my brother's name What a shame ONE PURPLE EVE One purple eve in June our dinghy tips and I fall through the glassy lake Down down down down sleepily down a jellied slope Hold my breath Hold my brain Hold everything Up up up up dreamily up a murmuring tunnel The sky bursts The air shouts In the glare I kick hard, stretching toward my brother's hand UNCLE JULIUS My Uncle Julius died His hands were bony and his chin was rough He gave me a dollar once When our telephone split the dark I could see the sound saw-toothed lightning Then I opened my eyes and heard Gram crying "Juliekin, my Juliekin " Long ago they lived together He was her little brother DINNERTIME Slowly slowly glides his hand beneath the table I see his fingers clutch a corner of my napkin Gently gently slides the napkin off my lap I pounce Gotcha' You two better stop that Stop what7 Stop whatever it is you're doing We're not doing anything Then stop whatever it is you're not doing Geez Slowly slowly glides my hand beneath the table My fingers grope Gently gently slides the napkin QUESTIONS Are you asleep yet7 Sort of Do you ever think of weird things7 Like what Like the stars and planets and stuff Sometimes How did they get started Don't know Are we all whirling around and around7 Thmk so What keeps us from falling off9 Gravity Is gravity like God Sort of Then what keeps God from falling off7 Are you asleep yet7 REGRETS The time my brother got his jacket hooked along the crossbar in the playground, flopping like a puppet, yipping like a puppy, all his friends just stood around and laughed I should have kicked them MELISSA Melissa is my brother's girl I see them walking home from school The thing they do a lot is giggle, him and his Melissa Whenever no one else is home he calls hei on the telephone You ought to hear the way they croon, him and his Melissa Tonight as we lay in our beds I told him I was good and mad He didn V hear a woid I said Him and his Melissa Some da v, 1 guess, I'll find a sir/ who wants to walk me home /torn si hool She'll giggle like my brother's girl?me and my Melissa A JULY GOODBYE Take your duffel bag and go Tin tired of tripping on that stuffed July of yours the pocket knife, the bent canteen, those scratchy woolen blankets for your bunk What junk You'll be in the movie now, the one Mr Fmster flashes every fall against our kitchen wall We'll watch you squinting in the sun, hiking the woods, shooting the rapids, while old Mr Fmster's film machine hums and hums Flicker flicker wave wave Who will your bunk mate be7 Don't tell me I have other things to think about these fourteen unstuffed days (Fifteen, if you count the day we bring you back ) BENEATH THE DISTANT STARS Beneath the distant stars we sleep, back to back, deep to deep Beneath December clouds we glide, sled for sled, slide for slide Beneath the buttonwood we fight, nose to nose, spite to spite Beneath the river bank we swim, he to me, me to him Beneath the smiling sky we ride, mile by mile, side by side BIG BROTHER SPEAKS Brother, brother, holdmv hand keep the dark from leaping m Space between us can be spanned Brother, biother, hold mv hand Can't reac h Biother, brother, turnaround keep the light from leaking out Pain between usian bedowned Brothel, brother, turn around It's cold Bi other, brother, hear mv call keep the cold from seeping in Ice between us can he thawed Biother...