Primarily to surprise Ravi and enjoy her three year old soccer game
When, just before game time, small niece saw
Loving uncle across the field, striding toward her
She broke into a run, making a beeline straight for him, and
Throwing her arms around his legs, Ravi looked up
Eyes, shining with happiness, and made David’s day by
Exclaiming: Uncle David, I missed you! Let’s hold hands!
David’s ‘little bro', Brett (The two having been
Paired by Big Brothers Big Sisters, eight years back)
Flew in on Friday to enjoy the weekend with
His second family, and as our home proves to be
A perennial busy-as-a-beehive-bed-n-breakfast
Ravi reveled in having a sleepover with
Two of her favorite playmates, and naturally
Writing time gave way to family time without so much as
A hint of inner conflict disturbing my peace of mind...
On Sunday at high noon, having taken
Big Bro and L’il Bro back to the airport, we
Hugged, all around, and I, feeling tuckered
Catnapped in the car while Will drove home
Sounds like we all enjoyed an idyllic weekend, right?
Think again—Why? One fact has not yet been served up:
Most of our chit chat, which tends to be lighthearted
Was not chit chat, at all—most of our conversations
Proved deadly serious as Brett shared fears (not
For the first time) concerning his life in
The gang infested neighborhood that
His family calls home, and while my retired (?)
Fixer listened, I knew without a doubt that
All of the brainstorming in the world couldn’t
Come up with a three step solution-seeking plan to fix
The overwhelming nature of the day-to-day
Confrontations that everyone in Brett’s family has
Faced and continues to face every time
Their front door is unlocked, and one or
Another, mustering the courage to leave
The relative safety of their home, faces
Their little corner of the world, head on ...
My blood ran cold to hear Brett say—Have you
Ever stood next to a friend on his stoop only
To see his hopes and dreams snuffed out as
He falls to the ground, another life randomly
Erased during a gang initiation drive by?
So what do you offer up after that kind of
Discussion has taken place, off and on, throughout
A weekend in which everyone talks of
Fear vs FEAR!
Well—before so much as a word leaves your mouth
Your perspective is sure to absorb an expanded view of
The sheltered nature of your life, just as
Brett absorbs the contrasting nature of
His life from ours, which, by sheer will and
Determination, he aspires to advance toward by
Embracing the education, moral support and
Financial help, all of which proves necessary if
He is to carve a path upon which
He releases himself from bondage—step by step
As for me I, having felt emotionally drained from
Having inhaled the brutal reality of this
Bright and hopeful (though at times Brett's been
Known to barely pull himself out of bed feeling
Close to hopeless) young lad’s need of
His second family's loving hand up so as to sustain
His connection to courage as well as every other
Inner strength known to mankind, reflect over
So much that Brett, David and I freely
Discuss, back and forth, whenever we’re together
(As well as during conversations, texts and emails when
We’re apart), and the mere idea of penning even a fraction of
What we’ve each chosen to reveal wearies my brain, so
Suffice to say that today, a nineteen year old
Stouthearted young man, still in the first quadrant of life
Arose from his bed, inhaling the courage to be
“The man of the house” so as to face another
Day in ‘the hood’, while I, a woman facing
The fourth quadrant of life, arose this morning, to
Scroll back and see that Post 2018—
HEAD ON COLLISION Part 4 (eye), which
Had been left in a semi wrinkled state, has been ironed out
And so, with thoughts of pulling today’s intuitive train of thought
Into a rest station, let’s ‘brake’ with heartfelt reason to smile—
Time out on the spot to socialize during the game ...
Ravi and Uncle David enjoying spoons of peanut butter during Happy Hour
this little girl giggled all the way home ...
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