A Brother Mourns

"Did you catch him?"

He looked across at
The tiny woman, clutching
Rosaries worn smooth
By her tiny fingers.

"Did you catch him
When he....?"

The words caught in
Her throat. Big, hairy,
Scary truths whose
Claws sank into the
Tender flesh of her
Esophagus, refusing to budge.

He looked at his mother
And wished he could tell
A lie, tell her something
That would stop the pain
She felt, prevent the pain
She would eventually feel.

Looking away, he shook
His head and silence
Fell upon them, heavy,
Suffocating. She could have
Screamed, she could have
Raved and ranted,
Blaming him but she didn't.

He looked back at her, and
She was nodding, eyes dry,
Yet a sadness lived in them.
Hopes lease had come
To an end.

"I didn't expect you to,"
She came forth, embracing
Him. Her strength showed
Him how truly weak
He was.

"You've spent much
Time, so much energy,
Catching him over and
Over again that now
You have nothing to show
For all your effort."

Her words snapped
The last cords of his
Control and in his mother's
Arms, he sobbed.

"It was time for him
To fall," she whispered.
"And time for you to rise."

In his mother's arms,
He cried for his
Fallen brother who soared
High beyond what
Was possible, but he
Didn't fly high enough.

Gravity pulled him down
Every time. And every time,
His brother would catch him
Even if it meant it buried
Him deeper into the earth.
But this time he couldn't
Catch him, his arms
Too weary.

This time, he fell
Never to rise again.
It was something
they would all accept
But for now,
A brother mourns.