:: B + A + W ::
My brother Bren enlists this Thursday.
I made a note in my Gcal - 4 June 2009.
I took leave from work, in fact.
So that I could see B off
At his ‘Enlistment Ceremony’ of sorts.
It will be a major milestone in his life
And I am happy to be part of it.
There were no silver spoons in our family.
And when dad passed away, a decade ago,
B, at a young age, had to learn
How to grow up without a father.
And I, not exactly old, but older,
Had to learn, to be
A better brother.
Sometimes, I wonder, as I look back the years
If I did a good job as a brother.
I believe I could have done more
Beyond the weekly personal tuition,
The pocket money, and being a role model
That B can respect, and emulate.
I wonder.
I always remember the conversation we had
At the TPY Swimming Pool.
I questioned B about his future,
And how he would go about achieving it.
The road was windier than anyone expected
But B is at a good juncture, and I know from his entry
That B remembers the pool talk, vividly.
Isn’t is funny, how feelings and emotions
Are expressed by not expressing them, but
Discerned, felt, and hence, connected?
The regular meals between Bren, Angela and me
Are looked forward, and enjoyed.
Perhaps childhood hardships bond siblings.
I treasure them deeply.
And thus, as I ready to bid B a good journey
To the next phase of his life,
I beseech all, to pause, and examine
His or her unexamined part of life.
To love his or her siblings, and family
For, there may be less time than what we
Think, there is.
