Military Brother

Military Brother

You think that you hate his guts,
Because he gives you bruises and cuts.
It isn’t until he’s gone,
Even if it isn’t for very long,
That you start to figure out
That all those years you thought you could’ve lived without,
Were really the best years of your life.

He leaves for half a year,
But everything is different here.
It seems empty without him
It’s like a light that has gone dim.
A month goes past
And you wonder how fast
He’ll get home.

The day is nearing
All you keep hearing
Is, “Wear a skirt for his graduation, why don’t you?”
Your answer always is, “Ha, ha, ha! Oh, you were serious, weren’t
you?”
You don’t think you can wait
For the date
Of your big brother’s military graduation.

You fly up to see him
You’re so nervous, you feel like a cat out on a limb.
But, when you catch his eye,
You then realize
That even though he’s gone through boot camp,
And you think that his feelings would be damp
You realize he is still your big brother.

He’s still the big brother that will
Give you a look that could kill.
He’s still the same big brother that could
Drive you out and leave you in the hood.
But, you know that something is not the same
When he walks over, saying your name,
And wraps you in the tightest hug he could manage.

You realize something is not the same,
As soon as he came
Close enough that you could tell
If you, for any reason anymore, fell.
He wouldn’t stand over you and laugh at you,
He would do what friends would do.
Help you back on your feet and hug you ‘till your bones cracked.

True big brothers go through a phase,
That lasts more than a few days.
But military brothers are so much better
You realize it in your first letter.
The military may make him hard outside,
But, no matter how hard they try,
They can never affect his feelings inside.