Only Yesterday

Feels like only yesterday we'd race around the house,

Dare ourselves to eat chile until we'd cry it all out,

Throw spitballs on the ceiling,

To see who's would stick the longest,

Like only yesterday,

You'd take the blame for every mess we made.

You cared for me.

How we'd laugh until we'd pee our pants,

When I'd get lost, you would always guide my way.

You were my rock.

We even promised to one day,

Make our parents proud.

But now I look at you and wonder,

What went wrong?

How did this happen?

Was it middle school?

Your friends?

I remember how almost everyday they'd call from school to say,

“Your son did not attend school”

I still remember the nights

When you wouldn't come back

Until it was very late.

With red bloodshot eyes

And the stench of a woman you called MJ.

You worried me,

You scarred me,

You went from straight A's to a 1.5 GPA,

You'd always get suspended for fighting,

Get arrested for vandalizing.

You changed the way you dressed,

You stopped smiling.

So did I,

Who are you?

Please... Just stop,

Make everything go back to the way things used to be.

I miss you, the old you,

I remember waking up to the sounds of my mother crying,

She prayed God to save your soul...

I would cry silently with her.

It's ironic-

You're named after a saint,

But saints aren’t supposed to make their little sisters cry.