When we were young
We played with sparklers
It was a day of red white and blue
And you’d come home tired from work
But each year we’d hold sparkles in our hands
And with brother we would hold something beautiful
As mother watched from the windows

When we were young
We were apart
Mother and brother and I
We were together
But then once every so often we’d be able to visit
And you’d have a container the size of me
Filled with hamburger gummies
And me and brother would get one each
And then we’d go rent a movie
And watch it together
When we were young

As we grew older
I grew to have nothing to say
I’d see you once a day
And as we grew older I’d see you less
See you smile less
I’d look for you in someone other

We have grown older
And your once black hair is grey
What became sips has now turned into bottles
And I see you once or twice a week
Our times never meet
The rare days we all sit together
I look as I see you all talk
And those days you come home
After work after a bottle
I cry another night away
Since loneliness is one thing but your conversations are another
Death, money, and separation
We know there’s love
But we pass by never knowing how to show it
Like when we were younger