A Sonnet For My Brother

UNTITLED

CHALINA CUTTS

Sculpture

A SONNET FOR MY BROTHER

RJ HERVEY

Oh my brother—you whom I once loved--
how cruel is fate to steal you away
in the prime of youth, while hot cheeks still blush
and hot tempers still hold sway.
But what of me, little brother? To die
is a selfish thing, even worse that in
so doing you have left me to abide
with my many fetid sins.

Though I was once proud of your persistence
I now find myself perched upon this sward
dodging the gaze of your Lord’s omniscience
as your blood the ground absorbs.
Am I my brother’s keeper?
Am I my brother’s keeper?

27

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