Companion Poem

I watch my brother twin with her,

the two of them sitting across the living room with me.

He leans down against her shoulder,

his arms around her.

The smile on his face,

once uncommon,

makes his dark features seem lighter.

They talk about going to lunch,

and I watch them over the screen of my laptop.

As they decide,

he slides off the couch

as if a puppet with cut strings,

sprawled out,

head on her lap

as he slides to the floor.

She laughs as he falls

the short distance to the floor,

and jests that she carry him to the car.

I walk over as she struggles to move him,

and grip his ankles as she takes his wrists.

Together we lift,

or at least we try.

I start dragging him

as she struggles to get his torso off the floor,

but together

we get him to the edge of the room.

We’d called his bluff,

and he gave in.