We drank wine
as deep red as the blood in our hearts
The sky laughed lavender
into
deeper shades of evening
We spoke as young fools speak
of the lives we
would never live
filled with a multitude of conquests
and successes
Then
we flew like magnificent hallowed owls
under the wide face of the
harvest moon
soaring into the valley of vines below
That night we
became blood brothers
of the hunt
You sang your Mediterranean magic
song
I chanted to the Great Mother
and we drank more of her blood
till the sky lightened to a rosy dawn
We walked down the mountain shadows
amongst the deer and rabbits
proud hunters
At the foot of the mountain
in the heart of a vineyard
we pointed to the different directions
of
our destinies
then shook hands as only hunter-brothers can
and bid
each other luck on the hunt
And today when
I look at how different
my life is
I miss you
my naive brother
Back then we
hung out together
whistling through summer grass
playing Risk or
Monopoly on rainy days
rode our bikes further than allowed
fought on
the same sides
I was quiet
observational
you were wiry hyper
together we made a team
At night,
after all the judges were asleep
I slipped out of my window
cutting
across tall grass in the vacant lot
between our houses to sneak you out of
yours
one night I
came early
drunken step
father yelling
then I heard the slap
unforgettable slap
and your
cries
from then on I
came early
and every night it replayed
I never
noticed your bruises
after that, I never noticed anything else
I'd
dream about fighting him
about standing up
Your step-father was never
a nice guy
but he became evil after this
I told my
parents
but back then a man could
slap his wife
beat his kid
kick his dog
and that's his business
One night, I
didn't have to climb outside
to hear your crying
to hear the blows
I called the police without permission
and for some reason they came
then they left
and the beatings got worse
I never told you who called
