Lines To My Brother
I thought I knew you, William Kane.
No sooner did my world begin
Than you were peering down at me
And I acknowledged you as kin.
I thought I knew you, William Kane,
No matter how thick your disguise.
I was both prey and pet to you,
Someone to fear yet idolize.
We ran together in our yard.
You clasped my hand tight in your own,
And I was glad to feel its warmth,
Yet glad when you stole off alone.
“Able,” they called me, but I knew
That you possessed the keener brain.
When praises came my way, I thought:
Credit should go to William Kane.
You thrust me forward like a shield.
Not one soul saw you tug the chain.
I was your spokesman-advocate,
Your buffer brother, William Kane.
You were a man that people liked,
Tactful, good-humored, not profane,
Affable always, much admired,
Coping heroically with pain.
When illness ripped your mask away
And all deception was in vain,
I tried to pull you from your hell
But lost my balance, William Kane.
The grass grows slippery and red
Where I am lying in the rain.
Once more your troubled gaze meets mine.
I’ll never know you, William Kane.
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