The Brothers

Easy to say no on hot nights in July:
Don’t be absurd. We love you. Stay.
They remembered a girl playing tag
Or snapping her brothers’ knuckles
And running away breathless, delighted
That she could cause just a little pain.

Boys have all they can do to become men.
When the laughter stopped, when
You were needed in the kitchen or
To play hostess, you prayed; you prayed
Like Amat and Aishah and men came
And loved you and went, and sometimes
You would snap their knuckles, too,
Just to show them you had not forgotten
How to hurt, a little.

You must stop running now, darling,
And learn to catch your breath and rest.
You must not climb trees or live to make
Boys and mothers happy, because
The running you do now you do
By standing still, and waiting
For the world to change. It won’t.