For My Brother

I am not a mistake I am a human being that was thought up and created for a purpose Perfect but not I am a woman Cautious and curious Old enough to go places but young enough to take things for granted I am an artist that is Blind to social norms and attentive to the little things Because someone told me it’s the little things in life that tend to amuse us My brother is not a mistake A scientist in his own right His logic is beyond any point of an average 16 year old He’s curious and careful I listen as he tells me how exactly the wood splits when he strikes it with an axe How the lines of the tree define all of its features How long the wood will burn and how much heat it will provide And all this time he never skips a beat He asks me questions and gives me answers Like why the world spins and why don’t people feel it That maybe it’s something we’re missing That maybe we need to stop and pay attention to the little things This is why he’s my best friend I remember how we used to pretend that we were so grown up The world would never know that there was magic in sticks and stones And that the trees would speak to us We were members of a secret society that taught us The earth would give us the things we need if only we were kind to it Our backyard was our home But now we have grown No longer children we have little time to pretend Our imaginations seem to escape us now But our children will know how to find magic in sticks and stones Their curiosity will be encouraged And they will know that the little things in life are worth paying attention to