In the woods: my brother, 15 years gone
Sometimes in the woods
all these miles north
of the woods we knew
He is there
autumn hair gold and wild
gray eyes hard and laughing
creek water over stone
He is off to the left
still, among the trees
ready to shake branches
deliver his Tarzan yell
and point and snicker
at how I jump
He is no ghost
shadowing me
along the trails
he is a free thing
the shattered body
left in his coffin
merely a stand-in
He had no fear
I had too much
Now he's in the woods
everywhere
fearless forever
