Imagine snapping photographs, before the tears and after laughs,
Subtract the smiles add the fear, and life is over in a flash.
61 years ago I took my brothers hand in my own,
Back when you still needed a cord to use the telephone.
Back when life was hard but people said it was simple,
Back when only cops an robbers carried a pistol.
I remember that day clearly despite the Alzheimers,
He was holding a ball bound with the same material as recliners.
After that picture he looked me in the eyes, as if to say,
He knew our lives would fly by, if we let them slip away.
We held tight to each other despite losing our mother,
Tuberculosis claimed her the same way I claim my brother.
Years after her passing we started to grow distant,
Yet remembrance is key, when you feel locked in an instant.
I took her death pretty hard as I resorted to whisky,
My brother moved on and I just hoped that he missed me.
I wish I could tell you where my father was at the time,
But we never saw him a day after he quit working the mine.
As you can tell I've been through hell since that picture was taken,
My brother, Gary, got married and my life was left vacant.
I was invited of course but my drinking habit implored,
I stay an hour later at the pub, then I returned in remorse.
I had overslept, hungover, I missed the wedding and all,
Awoke distraught in my bedding; this time I dropped the ball.
I shrugged it off and forgot about the years I had wasted,
Knowing my brother was satisfied and I could never replace it.
23 years after my brother and I had last spoken
He showed up at my door alone, crying, and broken.
His wife had passed away, tuberculosis had claimed another,
And that was the same night that I regained my brother.
We reminisced and laughed; then mourned our family lost,
Admitted my addiction and what my insanity cost.
He helped me become sober, I helped him smile again,
Slowly we both aged while revealing the child within.
We both came to the conclusion we had each other for a reason,
Born from the same instant, recreated, and learned perseverance.
After the miseries suffered we discovered the truth,
With age comes wisdom, and with wisdom comes proof.
We captured one last photo to honor the past,
And with the push of a button...
it was gone in a flash.
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