I was worried
You might call me back
After months spent
Feeling so jealous,

And hiding this pain
Almost hateful
Over how our lives
Grew apart –

Shedding tears
Friends never could fake
As we swore out loud
Our contrition,

Knowing manhood
Hinges on bonding
Thought platonic
Yet intimate still.

Some are afraid
They might love
Outside what realm
Remains stoic,

But who should care
When emotion
Runs deep
After years being close?

There’s pride
In having two sons
Despite my attempts
More inadequate

At adulthood’s tasks
Seeming harder
While for some
It happens with ease.

Perhaps that’s why
Change can hurt
If the past gets lost
Over decades,

Reduced to texts
Between brothers
Knowing innocence
Never returns.

Good things
Require adjustment
Since tomorrow
Presumes transformation.

Why does God expect
Further distance?

Will these memories
Be difference enough?

• J. Pigno